


Devious Ice

by coolman229



Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2019-09-21 16:04:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 26,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17046680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coolman229/pseuds/coolman229
Summary: When Elsa receives a letter from the Southern Isles she's not sure how to respond. Does she visit them?





	1. The Trade Agreement

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fanfiction I wrote and posted a while back. I thought I'd post it here too. This is a Helsa fic focusing on Elsa and her relationship with Hans. There will be quite a bit of stuff going on, especially developing things like Hans' family and Elsa's relationship with Anna. There's going to be development for Hans' character so please look forward to that.

 

Elsa sat breathlessly at her desk. Her duties as queen regnant were exhausting, but never shocking. Between given her approval and directions of the country’s affairs, the most she’d have to do was settle a dispute or iron out details of trade agreements. But today was different.  A letter lay before her. It was from the crown prince of the Southern Isles. Something she’d never thought she’d get.

She was confused, though, from all the apologizing in the letter. After dealing with Hans she had a hard time imagining the crown prince, of all people, pleading out to the point that it became rather overly apologetic. But the main point was that he wanted to meet with her in person to give her a formal apology from the royal family and to open up trade agreements.

Not that the snow queen was opposed to having another trade partner (Arendelle was in need of several supplies), but she had reservations about the Southern Isles. Even though it’s been three months since she unleashed an eternal winter, the memories of Hans manipulating her and Anna, and trying to kill them still burned vividly in her mind. Just the thought of it made her chest tighten.

 _Relax Elsa. Let it go_ , she told herself.

The picture of Hans standing there telling her that Anna had died resurfaced. Despite her best efforts to remain calm she felt a surge of anger. _How dare anyone try to hurt Anna?_ A layer of ice started to grow on her chair.

 _No. Let it go_. The ice slowly disappeared. Elsa took a deep breath.

Recently Elsa had been making progress in dealing with her emotions. Having Anna to talk to has been extremely helpful. But she still has moments where she gets overwhelmed. She had to talk to Anna. Elsa stood up from her chair and headed for the door, only taking a second to glance back at the letter before opening the door and heading out.

Anna was out with Kristoff, helping him with his ice harvesting. She insisted that she help, despite Kristoff constantly telling her that he’s fine. He’d given up a while ago trying to stop her. They should be back soon, so Elsa decided to wait for her.

             

* * *

 

Elsa walked quickly towards the two as they approached. They bickered as usual, Anna riding her horse, and Kristoff riding Sven. Several guards followed, assigned by Elsa to assure that Anna was safe when she went out.

“Hey Elsa! I harvested ice!!” Anna triumphantly proclaimed, patting Kristoff on the shoulder. “Ha! Told you I was going to be useful!” A big smile stretched across her face.

“You moved two blocks,” Kristoff replied, deadpan. Anna made a grumpy face.

“Good evening Kristoff. Thank you for taking care of Anna. May I speak with her alone?” Elsa kindly asked.

“Oh! Uh… Of course!” Kristoff still wasn’t quite used to the queen of Arendelle being the sister of the girl he’s dating. He leaned over to Anna wanting to give her a kiss before he left, but he was too far away from her and almost fell off Sven. Anna laughed and moved closer to him to give him a quick kiss. Kristoff sat there with a goofy smile on his face before saying bye and heading out. He didn’t get too far before he remembered and turned around on Sven.

“Hey we still on for Thursday?” he shouted, now sitting backwards on Sven.

“Yeah!!” Anna waved as she shouted back, excited for her next date with Kristoff.

Elsa felt awkward talking to Anna sometimes, especially when she was asking something. They’ve grown closer these three months but 13 years of separation don’t heal so easy. Anna got off her horse and hugged Elsa.

“So I take it you had fun?” Elsa inquired with a smile. Despite her awkwardness there was something about Anna that put her at ease.

“Oh yeah! Got to flex my muscles and show that ice who’s boss!” Anna boasted, walking alongside Elsa inside the castle.

“I’m glad you had a good time. Anna….” Elsa paused. Anna looked worried.

“Elsa?”

Elsa wondered if she should ask this of Anna.

“Anna, I received a letter today.”

“A letter? Don’t you get like a million of those a day?”

“Yes, but this one…is from the Southern Isles,” Elsa finally managed to say.

Anna stopped for a moment.

“Oh….Anything… _in particular_?” She seemed lost on how to respond. Elsa turned to her sister.

“It was from the crown prince, apologizing for what happened and inviting me to visit to set up trade between Arendelle and the Southern Isles” the queen explained. Anna nodded in an almost feigned understanding. They resumed their walk.

“Okay…” Anna trailed. “So what are you going to do?”

“I’m thinking about accepting it. Even with our new trade partners, we’re lacking things we used to get from Weselton. This could help Arendelle. I don’t want to open up trade with the Southern Isles, but we need the help and the letter seems sincere.”

“So did Hans,” Anna pointed out, her reply laced with anger. Both sisters ground to a halt. This is what Elsa was worried about. As much as Elsa hated the idea of it, she at least wanted to explore the possibility, if only for Arendelle’s sake. And as much as she didn’t want to believe it, the crown prince honestly seemed like he wanted to apologize. Elsa remained quiet, contemplating Anna’s words.

Anna noticed Elsa’s expression. “You’re…not actually going are you?”

Elsa made up her mind.

“Yes,” she declared with a surge of confidence, straightening her posture.

“But Elsa you ca-” Elsa cut her off as she started walking, putting her hand up.

“Anna, I understand your concern, but trust me. If this turns out to be bad I’ll cut ties immediately. I’ll bring extra guards, and if it comes to it I will use my powers. You’ll be in charge while I’m gone. You’ll be okay with that, right?”

Anna sighed deeply, realizing that she wasn’t going to get anywhere arguing with her sister.

“Yeah…. I’m just worried that something will go _horribly_ wrong and I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Elsa turned to her sister and smiled.

“Don’t worry Anna. I’ll be extremely cautious. The trip will take at most a couple days.” Elsa said, and then turned to prepare for the trip.

Anna mumbled to herself.        

“That’s not it Elsa…”

 

* * *

 

The next day the ship was being prepped by the crew and the guards were standing by near Elsa and Anna. Kristoff had come by for Anna and Olaf was attempting to help guard. It was a sunny day out but Olaf’s personal cloud kept him nice and cold.

As the royal sisters stood at the dock, Anna started acting squirmish. Elsa noticed that this was clearly bothering her.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can Anna. I won’t leave you in charge for too long. You’ll have plenty of help while I’m gone,” she reassured her sister. Anna’s expression didn’t change.

“It’s….not that,” Anna glanced down squeezing her hands. Elsa knew something was wrong but she couldn’t figure out what.

“Anna, what is it?” Elsa asked earnestly. Anna looked up.

“It’s just…mom and dad….” Anna said quietly.

Then the realization came crashing down. She had been so busy preparing and worrying about dealing with the Southern Isles that she completely forgot.

Elsa took her worried sister’s hands and looked her in the eyes.

“Anna. I promise you that I’ll come back. I won’t leave you alone.” Elsa pulled her sister in for a hug and refused to let go. She couldn’t ignore the very real possibility that something could happen at sea, but she would have to be dragged to the bottom of the ocean by the gods before she left Anna alone again. She finally released the hug, still holding on to her little sister.

“You’ll be fine Anna.”

Anna smiled. Elsa wasn’t going to put Anna through pain like that again. The captain called to the queen that the ship was ready to set sail. Anna gave Elsa a slight nod. Elsa signaled her guards that she was ready and proceeded to board the ship.

Olaf started following Elsa up the ramp. She noticed and gave a small chuckle before kneeling down to his level.

“Sorry Olaf. I need you to stay here in Arendelle while I’m away.”

“I need to go with you,” Olaf responded in his usual attempt to help.

“Thank you, but Anna’s going to need you more. Can you do me a big favor Olaf and help Anna run Arendelle while I’m away?”

“Okay,” the little snowman said with a twinge of disappointment. He then got close and whispered “Be careful about that one,” pointing to one of the royal guards. “ _He smells and I don’t trust him_.”

“I’ll take your worries under advisement,” Elsa said with a smile. She watched Olaf waddle over to Anna and Kristoff.

The snow queen took a deep breath and boarded the ship, followed by her royal guards. Olaf eyed the smelly guard, motioning that he was keeping an eye on him. Elsa made her way to her room. She was starting to have doubts about the trip, but she couldn’t back out. She had already sent word to the Southern Isles that she was coming.

 _Arendelle needs this_ , Elsa reassured herself. _It’s the Queen’s duty to do things she doesn’t want for the sake of her kingdom._

The boat started to move. Elsa peered out her window and saw as Anna became harder to see, Olaf’s little body disappeared, and slowly Arendelle became smaller.

_There’s no going back now._

 

* * *

 

The boat pulled into the docks of the Southern Isles. It was a misty morning in the kingdom. The Captain knocked on Elsa’s door and announced that they had arrived. Elsa was laying down in the bed but found it hard to rest when she had the feeling that she was walking straight into the lions’ den. The uneasy queen had fallen asleep and woken up multiple times during the trip, even taking a walk on the ship in the middle of the night.

The queen had already changed into her formal dress and done her hair for the meeting with the crown prince. She preferred to wear ice dresses and keep her hair undone but they were hardly proper for a meeting with foreign royalty.

 She sat up but stopped short of standing. She found herself taking quick breaths.  Breathing was becoming difficult.

_You can do this Elsa. It’s only a meeting. You have plenty of guards. This….this isn’t going to go badly._

No matter how much she told herself that the thought still gripped her. But she wasn’t going to let that stop her. She has a job to do. She rose, and strode to the door. Opening it, she was met with a wall of guards.

“We’ve checked out the dock, Queen Elsa. It’s secure,” one of the guards informed her.

“Thank you. I’m ready to go now,” Elsa told her guards. They proceeded to make their way off the boat in formation, Elsa walking calmly in the middle. The docks were an elaborate mix of intricately placed stones and wood. She didn’t expect the Southern Isles to be so….artistic.

“Queen Elsa!” called a voice in the distant. Elsa checked in the direction of the voice and found that it belonged to a man who bore a strong resemblance to Hans running towards her, followed by a handful of elaborately dressed guards in red. This must be the crown prince. As he approached Elsa could see that he was noticeably older than Hans, probably in his mid to late thirties. While he had the same sideburns as Hans he had more brownish hair, and a neatly trimmed beard dressing his more angular chin.  The uniform he wore was a slightly more elaborate version of what Hans wore in Arendelle. Fitting for the man who was first in line for the crown. He slowed his pace as he neared the guards. Elsa motioned for the guards to part to allow her to speak to the crown prince.

“Queen Elsa of Arendelle!” He knelt down quickly onto his left knee, putting his left arm over it as he bowed his head. Elsa was almost off put by the formality. He stood up and Elsa saw that he was quite tall. Her head barely reached his nose.

“I humbly welcome you to the Southern Isles. I am Crown Prince Kristan,” he proclaimed with a smile almost too honest and sincere. “I take it by your letter that you are willing to open up trade?”

“I am here to assess if this will be good for Arendelle. Your letter mentioned several goods that we need.” Elsa recited, barely making eye contact. She had practiced those words over and over again on the trip here. Kristan’s livid eyes relaxed.

“Thank you. I’ve prepared a room for us to negotiate at the castle,” Kristan said, leading Elsa towards a carriage. It was covered with delicate golden designs, contrasting the dark colors of the vehicle. “I just want to apologize again for what Hans put you and your kingdom through.”

“Oh, that’s alright,” Elsa reassured the prince.

As they walked Elsa saw a middle aged man and woman, both in regal gowns and wearing crowns, stare at her. There were a herd of guards behind them.

“It’s shameful for the crown prince to bow like that in his own kingdom. We raised him with more dignity than that,” the king muttered in disgust.

“We don’t owe them anything,” the queen spat with equal disgust, just loud enough for Elsa to hear. “I can’t believe we let Kristan drag us all the way out here for this. Acting like what Hans did was _our_ problem.”

Elsa felt their gaze on her. They pierced her wall of guards and hit her directly. It made her supremely uncomfortable. It was already hard enough being in an unfamiliar kingdom. She didn’t need the king and queen making it worse. Elsa decided to keep herself focused on Kristan, to at least try and ignore them. It was then she noticed a pained expression on his face.

He tried to hide the expression with a smile as he opened the carriage door for her. The king and queen boarded their own larger, more elaborate carriage.

“Some of your guards can ride on top of the carriage, but I don’t think they’ll all fit,” said the prince when he noticed that there were too many guards for the carriage to hold. Elsa felt reasonably safe letting a few of her guards go. She told 3 of them to go back to the ship, and entered the carriage followed by the prince. The remaining bodyguards stepped up onto the carriage and sat on the front and back of it. The guards who were with Kristan retreated to the docks upon his entrance to the carriage.

Elsa and Kristan sat opposite each other. The seats were extremely comfortable, and seemed to be made of a soft red felt. There was a silence as it started to move.

“I apologize for my parents,” Kristan said suddenly. “They’re….not used to guests.” He gazed out the window at the town they were passing through.

Elsa didn’t really know how to respond. It was clear that Kristan didn’t want to admit how bad his parents were, at least not to her. But since they were in relative privacy, she had a question she had wanted to ask for a while. The queen took a breath.

“What happened to Hans when he was brought back?” Elsa asked. Kristan pulled his gaze from the window with a solemn look. Elsa figured what happened.

“I take it he was…”

“No,” he interrupted. “Oh no no. My parents wanted it, but I….I couldn’t.” It looked to Elsa as if he was on the brink of tears.

“I couldn’t sentence my little brother to death. Not even with what he’d done. I just….couldn’t.” His eyes started to water, but he quickly wiped his tears and composed himself.

Elsa felt sorry for him. She can only imagine how she would feel if she was told to put Anna to death. The thought scared her immensely.

“As an older sister…. I know what you mean,” Elsa tried to sympathize.

“Thank you,” Kristan said softly. He looked back out the window.

Silence resumed. The only sounds were of the horses, along with the wheels rolling along the stone street.

Elsa hated having the burden of conversation fall on her. She could never figure out what to say to break the silence.

_Come on Elsa. You have to do something. You can’t leave them with a weak impression._

“It seems we’re nearing the castle now,” Kristan announced before she could say anything.

Elsa peered out her window. The castle was quite magnificent. It appeared to be much older than the Arendelle castle, and a bit larger.

“The castle is one of the oldest in the region. I’ve actually had several areas of it remodeled recently,” Kristan was trying to make small talk.

They pulled up to a guard post, where they were inspected by Southern Isle guards. Elsa’s royal guards eyed the foreign ones carefully, only letting up when they were cleared to pass. As they closed in on the castle a great drawbridge eased down in front of them. All in all the castle wasn’t too far away from the docks, though it was very different from Arendelle castle. They entered the castle grounds and the carriage stopped.

Elsa’s guards hopped off of the carriage and stood at attention in front of the carriage door. Kristan exited first, holding a hand for Elsa. She took it and stepped out. They were in a large courtyard not dissimilar from Arendelle castle. About a dozen guards rushed towards them from the castle lead by a middle aged man in uniform, causing Elsa’s guards to draw their weapons.

“Prince Kristan! What were you thinking?! You decided to leave with the king and queen without informing your guard?” the lead guard shouted. Kristan laughed. The Arendelle guards relaxed.

“It’s alright John. It was only a quick trip to the docks to meet our guest. I took a few guards from the dock with me,” the prince replied with a smile. John looked perturbed about the whole situation.

“Don’t do this again! I mean it! I have enough problems as is. Just because you’re the crown prince doesn’t mean you get to be reckless!” John screamed, almost going red in the face. He took a deep breath and calmed down. “At least you’re safe. And you’re back.” Kristan patted him on the shoulder and John left with his guards muttering to himself.

Elsa was feeling a tad awkward. Like a third wheel on her own trip. Honestly it was all very overwhelming for her.

“Are you alright, Queen Elsa?” Kristan inquired.

“Yes. I’ve just never been outside of my kingdom before. This is a lot to take in.” Elsa answered.

“Don’t worry. This shouldn’t take too long. We can-” Kristan stopped.

A woman who appeared to be in her early thirties walked out of the castle. She was beautiful, with silky brown hair tied back in bun, wearing a simple dark dress embroidered with fancy designs.  She walked elegantly towards them.

 “Oh! Queen Elsa. Let me introduce you. This is my wife, Princess Marianne.” Kristan declared. She slide over to him and gave her husband a quick kiss, holding for a second as they leaned their foreheads together. They moved apart, the princess turning to their guest.

“You must be Queen Elsa of Arendelle. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Princess Marianne politely said as she gave a curtsey.  Elsa curtseyed back.

“So how do you like the Southern Isles so far?” the princess asked.

“It’s…different. And I’m pretty sure the king and queen don’t like me.”

“Oh tell me about it,” Marianne spat out, dropping her politeness. “They made me marry into their family and I’m still pretty sure they don’t like me. They’re just _really_ unhappy people.”

Elsa was surprised by the frankness of the princess.

“You know I’m just glad to have another girl to talk to. As much as I love Kristan, being surrounded by so many guys can be draining.” Elsa felt a bit uncomfortable with her friendliness but didn’t want to be rude.

“When can we start negotiations?” Elsa asked, bordering on desperation. She really wanted to get things done with.

“Oh,” Kristan said in astonishment. “We can start immediately if you’d like.”

“That would be preferable.”

Kristan led the way into the castle, followed

“Have fun!” exclaimed Marianne, waving.

 

* * *

 

The next hour was spent with Elsa and Kristan discussing the trade agreement. It ended up being a pretty good deal for Arendelle. While it didn’t cover everything, the Southern Isles were actually able to make up for a decent amount of the goods they used to get from Weasel town.

As she was leaving the castle Kristan stopped her.

“Queen Elsa! I forgot about our official apology,” he called.

“Oh, that’s not necessary. You’re apologized enough for my satisfaction,” Elsa really wanted to leave.

“But we have a dinner planned in your honor,” Kristan said, hopeful.

“I wasn’t aware of any event,” Elsa replied worried. It was starting to get dark.

_Oh no. They’re going to keep me here forever._

“It won’t take too long,” Kristan assured her. Despite how much she wanted to leave she followed Kristan to the great hall. It was set up with two long rows of tables going all along the hall and dancers lining the middle. There was a smaller table up at the front with three spots. Elsa was led to the front and sat down at the table next to Kristan and Marianne.

After their food was served Kristan spoke up.

“Do you like it?” He asked.

To be honest, the answer was no. Elsa didn’t like it. The singing and dancing, all the people, it was too much. She couldn’t manage to eat a single bite. Her heart started beating rapidly.

“Is that snow?!” a random person called out.

Elsa quickly pushed out her chair.

“I’m sorry Prince Kristan, but I have to go,” Elsa quickly said, leaving the party in a hurry. Kristan was confused, but realized something was wrong.

“It seems Queen Elsa decided to gift us with some of her winter magic!” she heard Kristan proclaim as she ran. The snow queen passed her guards at the door. They made a move to follow her but noticed the icy footsteps that trailed their queen. Their standing orders for such an event was to give the queen space.

Once outside she collected herself. She leaned against a stone wall. She pulled her hair down and combed it back with her hand. She always felt better when she did that.

 _That was close_ , she thought to herself. She wasn’t going to doom the Southern Isles to an eternal winter. At least not yet.

She noticed the princess standing there, and straightened up her posture.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t feeling well,” Elsa started to explain, but Marianne put her hand up.

“That’s alright. The whole dinner was too much. I tried to stop Kristan from organizing it but he insisted on it. He’s very kind, but he can go overboard sometimes,” she had the gentlest voice. “I take it you’ll be leaving now?”

“Yes,” Elsa said, relieved at the chance to go back home. “I think I’ve had enough excitement for one day.”

The princess turned and whistled. A handful of guards appeared and lined up in front of her.

“We can leave right now,” the princess said to Elsa. “Soldier,” she directed at the guard in front of her. “Inform Captain John that our guest is leaving. And that I’ll be escorting her. Oh, and tell my husband that Queen Elsa is alright.”

“Yes, m’lady!” he ran towards the castle with haste. Elsa threw up a small blast of ice into the air. Her guards immediately came to her.

 The two royal women walked in the dark across the courtyard, each with their respective guards walking alongside them. As they made their way Elsa spotted an iron door with two guards posted on either side.

“Is that the prison?” Elsa asked.

“Yes, but not the general prison. We only keep special prisoners there, like-” she paused.

“Like Hans?” Elsa finished. Marianne sighed.

“Yes, Hans is in there,” she admitted to Elsa quietly. “We’re trying to keep it as quiet as possible. Only the guards and the royal family know where he is.”

“Why would you need to keep it such a secret?” Elsa was honestly confused.

“Did you think the Southern Isles would welcome him back with open arms after he tried to usurp a foreign kingdom?” Marianne sounded upset. “Kristan was really the only thing that stood in the way of Hans being executed on the spot. He was afraid that if Hans’ imprisonment was more public someone would try _something_.” Elsa got the hint.

“I want to see him,” Elsa declared.

“Whoa whoa whoa-what?” Marianne stopped. “Are you sure?”

“I have nothing to fear. I have a few things I would like to say to him,” Elsa stated.

The first part was a lie. Elsa was afraid. But she wanted to confront Hans. She never got the chance back in Arendelle because Anna punched him off the boat before anyone could do anything. As long as she was in the Southern Isles, she might as well. She didn’t have plans to come back anytime soon.

“Well alright,” shrugged the princess. She led Elsa towards the door and walked up to the two guards.

“I am Princess Marianne. We’re here to see the prisoner.”

The two guards eyed each other before one pulled out a set of brass keys, thumbing his way to the right key. He opened the door and walked inside. Before Elsa stepped inside, she turned to the princess.

“I’d rather talk to him alone, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course,” Marianne obliged, putting her hands up and stepping back. The Arendelle guards reluctantly stayed behind.

Elsa stepped cautiously down the dark stone steps.  They were long and faintly lit by the torches on the walls. Along the walls there were several barred openings that led down other hallways. The age of the catacombs was apparent. She went through several gates that had been unlocked by the guard. He remained at the last one. The queen walked past him, and rounded the corner.

She was in a large open room. There was a column in the middle, and to her right was a large cell, with bars running from wall to wall. The walls on the side of the cell was curved, contrasting the flat walls opposite. The disgraced prince sat in the middle of the cell, head lowered. He was dimly lit by the torches and the moonlight from a small opening high on his cell. He twitched at the sound of Elsa walking in but didn’t move. The snow queen approached the cell.

“Hello, Hans,” Elsa spat with an air of confidence.

Hans looked up slowly, his eyes focused.

“Oh what did I do right to deserve the visit of the wonderful queen of Arendelle?” he finally said with sarcasm dripping off of every word. His appearance shocked Elsa.

What she saw before her was a far cry from the clean cut man she knew. He wore dirty simple clothes, with his bare hands shackled. A chain connecting the shackles to the ground ran along the floor. His hair was filthy and messy. He didn’t seem to have shaved in a while either. His eyes were surrounded by dark bags. And Elsa was pretty sure she saw a bruise on his left cheek. It caught her off guard. She hadn’t put much thought into what three months of prison would do to him.

“Have you come to laugh at me?” He sneered. It was clear Hans wasn’t lowering any defenses just because he was in prison.

Elsa wasn’t quite sure what to do now. Hans just smiled and chuckled.

“It seems the dear queen is lost for words,” he joked. Elsa looked down.

“Oh you don’t need to feel uncomfortable,” his voice softened, becoming more reassuring. “It’s just you and me.”

Elsa couldn’t explain it, but his words hit something deeper in her. It was like he knew exactly what to say. He did it at the ice castle when he stopped her from killing those two men, and he was doing it now. Trying to ignore it, she raised her head in defiance. She wouldn’t let him manipulate her. She had to be alert.

“I don’t need you to tell me when I should be comfortable,” Elsa retorted. She realized after she said it that it sounded a lot better in her head. She shook off the embarrassment. Hans smiled.

Her intent was to give him a piece of her mind, but she found it hard when he looked so pathetic.

“You put me and my sister through a lot of grief. You’re a terrible human being,” Elsa shot.

“Oh you’re one to talk. Cutting Anna out of all those years-” Hans shot back, matching Elsa’s tone. But he was interrupted when a snowball hit his face.

_I won’t let you manipulate me. I won’t let you play me._

The snowball fell off his face. He wiped the rest off with his dirty, shackled hands.

“Fine then,” Hans replied defiantly.

This was not going as planned.

Hans sat up, locking eyes with the queen.

 _He’s handsome. Wait what?_ Elsa found herself thinking. _No don’t think that. He’s crazy. He tried to kill you._

Hans kept his eyes locked on hers. His face shifted emotions. Elsa closed her eyes quickly, breaking the link. She felt violated. Like he was reaching into her, poking and prodding her deepest parts.

“This was a bad idea,” Elsa admitted, turning away from Hans.

“If you’re not here to yell at me or kill me, then I’d prefer to be alone,” Hans said, himself turning away.

There was something in how he was talking….something odd. Repetitive.

“What…what are you doing when you talk?” Elsa asked curiously.

“What?” Hans questioned.

It hit Elsa.

“You’re mirroring me,” Elsa asserted. That was it.

Hans’ face went blank. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of that.

“I-,”

“What’s wrong? Your silver tongue turned to lead?” Elsa smirked. Finally a good line.

Hans leaned back, grinding his teeth. She won that round.

She left him speechless. Elsa felt satisfied with that. She turned to the exit and proceeded to leave, a smile on her face from her small victory.

“Elsa,” He called right before Elsa left. Elsa stopped in her tracks just a step away from the exit. “Can I say something crazy?” Elsa turned her head to look at Hans. He was wearing a relaxed face.

“I don’t like crazy,” the snow queen dropped.

Hans just smiled and leaned back. He liked this. Elsa continued her way down the hall and up the steps.

“I get it,” he spoke up. “The loneliness. You and I, we’re not so dissimilar.” It wasn’t mocking. It wasn’t an attack. It seemed like an honest comment.

And that’s what bothered her.

Elsa made her way out trying to get those words out of her head.


	2. Sending the Letter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the second chapter of the story. We get some nice sister moments with Anna and Elsa. And you get to meet another one of Hans' brothers.

 

_“You and I, we’re not so dissimilar”_

What could that mean? He couldn’t possibly be saying that they were the same. She wouldn’t believe it. But no matter how much Elsa tried to put the words out of her mind they kept burrowing their way back into it.

“Your majesty?” called the advisor. Elsa snapped back to her meeting. She was at an ornate oval mahogany table sitting with five of her advisors. There had been a report from some of the soldiers posted at the Weselton border that some suspicious individuals were seen.

“Yes,” she replied. “I understand your concern about the border but we don’t need to take extreme measures.” The advisor sighed.

“You can’t ignore the disturbances that have been reported. This sounds serious. We need to send troops down there immediately!” the man pleaded. Elsa collected herself.

“Alright. We’ll send _some_ troops to scout. If these reports have merit we will take action. I don’t want to start a war with Wease-Weselton,” Elsa instructed.

“Yes your majesty,” he resigned. He sat back in his chair, not making it a secret that he wanted quicker action taken.

“Well, that about wraps it up,” announced another advisor. The tall man shuffled some papers and pushed up his glasses. Aside from the border issue it was just another meeting about the same old things. The queen had been sitting in that meeting for hours and was bored out of her mind. Not to mention the stress was getting to her. Elsa always got stressed out from her advisor meetings, having to argue and defend herself constantly against the more stubborn ones. The conclusion of today’s meeting brought a sense of relief to the snow queen. She rose from her chair and turned to her advisors.

“So what are your orders your majesty?” asked the advisor.

“Tell the Captain at the border to organize a scouting party. Have them search the area for traces of these intruders or anything odd, and then report back,” she ordered.

“Yes your majesty,” he answered. He quickly exited the room to give the orders.

“If that is all there is to discuss, I will be in my room resting,” Elsa told the remaining advisors. She left the room and headed to her bed chamber.

Once inside she shut the door and leaned against it. Today wasn’t too stressful all things considered, but it wasn’t eventful either.

So this is what her mother and father did on a daily basis. Meetings, discussions, arguments, being annoyed by advisors and military officers left and right all day. By now it was midafternoon and Elsa just wanted to do nothing. She took a deep breath and pulled her hair out of the loose bun it was in, combing it back. Elsa strolled over to the mirror in her room. There was something about this hairstyle that she liked. She felt more like herself when she wore her hair like this.

She slid off her dress, letting it fall at her feet. Raising her hands, Elsa formed a fancy dress with her powers. The exhausted queen walked over to her bed, collapsing on it. She loved wearing ice dresses. She wished she could wear them all the time. The royal tailor was extremely annoyed when he discovered that she had destroyed her coronation gown in the process of making her first ice dress, so she promised not to mess up any of her other dresses. The ice dresses were great for public appearances but she felt it was more proper to wear normal dresses for meetings.

_“Can I say something crazy?”_

Elsa heard Hans’ voice again. Why won’t it stop? She buried her face in her hands.

She wanted to know what he meant. It was killing her not to know. Why would he say they were similar?

_Did he… could he know what my loneliness was like?_ The pale queen pondered. She slid her hands down her face, resting the tips of her fingers on her chin.

_You could write a letter_ , she thought to herself. It would allow her to communicate with him without having to be face to face. So she wouldn’t have to worry about being flustered. It would be easy to get a letter to Hans. While Elsa and Kristan had come to an agreement, there were still some papers that needed to be finalized. He had sent papers over and Elsa just needed to sign send the last of them back. She could just put a letter to Hans in with them. Kristan would surely help her.

The queen stretched out on her bed. She couldn’t think about this right now. Not with the day she’d had. Maybe later, but not now.

She needed to relax. Anna didn’t have anything to do today, and it’s been a while since they had a decent amount of time to be with each other. She smiled.

Elsa leapt off her bed and ran out of her door. Moving down the halls she ran into Gerda.

“Gerda, do you know where Anna is?” she asked the caretaker. Gerda gave a smile.

“Yes your majesty. She’s in the library,” Gerda happily informed the queen.

“Thank you!” Elsa called as she quickly made her way to the library. It warmed the woman’s heart to see the queen out and about. She and Kai had tried so hard for a long time to get Elsa to do anything other than hole herself up in her room and keep to herself that the very sight of her running to find her sister was more than enough to make her happy.

Arriving at the doors to the library, the snow queen marched up and burst open the doors. Anna was balancing atop of a large pillar made of books, holding one up and dramatically reciting it. Upon Elsa’s entrance she was distracted and fell off, landing on a pile of books. Anna turned her attention to her elder sister.

 “Hey Anna. Do you want to build a snowman?” Elsa said with a sneaky smile. The energetic younger sister lit up.

 

* * *

                                                                  

A man wearing a brown hat from the town arrived at the castle, two guards escorting him to the main door. Upon being informed, Kai answered the man at the door.

“May I help you sir?”                              

“I would like to speak with the queen, if I may,” the gentleman said.

“I’m very sorry sir, but the queen isn’t available right now,” Kai told the man. Whoosh sounds were heard behind Kai. The visitor saw the queen and princess skating through the castle on paths of ice. He stood there not knowing what to say.

“The queen is resting, please come back tomorrow,” Kai started closing the door.

“Wait I saw-!” the man objected before the door was closed on him. He awkwardly stood there before leaving, taking off his hat and holding it in disappointment.

 

* * *

 

The two sisters sped down the hallways, Elsa providing a steady stream of ice to make a track on the floors that guided them through the many hallways of their castle. Anna clutched onto Elsa to keep herself from falling, the elder sister quietly appreciating that she could support her little sister.

But Elsa was distracted by her sister and lost her balance heading into a turn. Thinking quickly she summoned a large pile of snow that softened their landing. Anna ended up completely buried with her legs sticking out, but Elsa heard her sister laugh beneath the soft snow.

It was moments like this that Elsa cherished. Being able to forget that they’re royalty and just have fun.

“Oh!” Anna suddenly exclaimed to Elsa’s surprise. She burst out of the pile of soft snow. “It’s Thursday! My date with Kristoff!”

She leapt out of the snow, wiping the powder off her dress. Elsa was saddened that Anna was leaving so soon. The energetic princess bolted down the hall before Elsa stopped her.

“Anna!” the queen called. Anna stopped and turned towards her sister. Elsa held her arms out and Anna ran into her for a hug. Elsa held her sister close. It had become an unspoken rule that before either of them left they had to hug. They never wanted to leave on bad terms or without saying goodbye.

“Have fun with Kristoff,” Elsa told her sister. Anna gave a big smile.

“I will!” Anna proclaimed as she hurried to meet Kristoff. Elsa stood there watching her sister disappear around a corner. With a wave of her hand the snow and ice dissipated into the air. The hallway was quiet.

Alone again.

The snow queen sighed deeply and walked to her room.

 

* * *

 

Elsa entered her room, closing the door with a small gust of snow. With no distractions her thoughts drifted back towards Hans and his words.

She peered at her desk, the stationary set up with the incomplete trade papers.

This was her chance. As she approached her desk fear started to consume her. What if Hans’ answer was something she didn’t want to hear? What if he told her she was just as much of a monster as he was? It was becoming difficult to breath.

_No Elsa. There’s nothing to worry about. You’re not a monster._

Elsa grasped at the chair on her desk, frost beginning to coat it.

_“Don’t be the monster they fear you are!”_ Hans’ voice cut into her.

WHY. Why are his words coming back to her? Why can’t she get them out of her head?

Ice spread from the chair onto the floor.

_Calm down Elsa. Just let it go._

The queen took a deep breath. She gathered the ice up and turned it into a puff of snow. Elsa made up her mind. She needed to write that letter. She needed answers. Taking a seat at her desk she picked up Kristan’s letter and papers. She gave the papers a once over just to check that everything was as they discussed. Confirming that it was, she signed it and then reached for blank paper from her stationary.

_Here it goes._

“Dear Prince Hans…"

 

* * *

 

It was a dark night in the Southern Isles. Hans sat alone in his cell, with only a few torches for light glistening off the damp floors. He was trying to sleep on the dirty mat he was provided with as much as he could. The disgraced prince had mostly gotten used to it, but that didn’t stop it from being unbearably uncomfortable. The cold is what really made it hard. He was a prince. He should be king - not stuck for the rest of his life in this forsaken prison. Hans shifted onto his back.

_“I don’t like crazy.”_

Hans cracked a smile. What an answer. If anything the Arendelle monarch’s visit was a nice break from the monotony of prison life, and better then a visit from any of his brothers. It was really the only time he’d enjoyed himself at all in these last three months. He wondered if he’d ever see her again. Doubtful.

But…He kept thinking about her comment that he was mirroring her. This baffled him.

_Do I really do that?_ The fallen prince asked himself.

Footsteps echoed down the stairway, followed by the sounds of keys sliding into locks. A visitor. Hans sat up on his mat, perturbed. He did not appreciate being interrupted when he was trying to sleep.

“Go away, Kristan,” he snarled. “I’ve had enough of your whining about trying to make things up.” His eldest brother annoyed him with his visits. Always trying to be the protective white knight.

“Oh, Hans,” a loud but smooth voice not belonging to Kristan replied. Hans’ heart skipped a beat, eyes briefly widening. “I’m flattered, but you know as well as I do that I don’t care about making up.”

Gustav. Hans knew what this meant. He shifted uncomfortably on the dirty mat.                             

The elder prince rounded the corner, followed by two guards. Wearing the familiar sideburns his ginger hair matched Hans, though considerably more unruly. His eyes matched his hair, a controlled fury glowing in them. He wore his royal uniforms, but it was clear he carried a slight disdain for it. Valuing it only for the power it gave him. Gustav smiled at his younger brother, slowing taking off his jacket. He was taller than Hans, and had a slightly more muscular build hidden by his uniform.

As much as Hans hated Kristan, he’d much rather him be visiting.

Gustav handed the jacket to one of the guards, who took it carefully. He licked his lips.

“So I hear the Queen of Arendelle visited you,” Gustav began. This was one game Hans hated to play ever since he was a kid.

“Yes,” he responded with a smile. “It was quite a nice visit.” _Please leave_.

The tall prince signaled the guards with his hand. The one not holding the jacket walked up to the cell door and opened it. Hans’ stomach churned.

“Come on, little brother,” Gustav said with a smile. “ _Stand up_. I didn’t come down here to wait.” His expression changed, the smile morphing into something more sinister. Hans carefully stood up, eyes locked on his brother’s. Without realizing it, Hans put on a fierce face to challenge his brother. Gustav strolled into the cell.

“Put your hands up,” the prince barked. Hans put his shackled hands up.

_Here it comes._

Gustav shot a punch right at Hans’ face. The younger prince managed to just barely block it as he fell backwards. Hans’ opponent snatched his shirt, following with another punch that connected with his nose. Before Hans could recover he felt a shot to his gut. He gasped for breath. Gustav released his younger brother and launched a haymaker, which Hans was unable to counter because his shackles ran taut. He took the punch on his left cheek, feeling it cut his skin. He stumbled, pulled to the ground with a yank by his shackles. Gustav leapt on top of him, pinning the former prince down. Sadistic glee smeared on his face.

“So what do you think Hans?! Just like old times!” Gustav yelled. The young former prince’s hands were held down by the chains. Hans closed his eyes.

Gustav wailed on his younger brother. Punch after punch connecting, smacking his face back and forth. Hans fought tears as his brother beat him. It felt like it went on forever. He couldn’t keep track of how many times his brother was hitting him. Hans only felt the pain of each punch and the blood trickling down his face from the fresh cut.

And then it stopped. Hans tentatively opened his eyes. Gustav was still above him, breathing heavily.

“Now wasn’t that fun?” He got out between breaths, patting Hans’ left cheek. Hans remained silent as pain seared from his cut. Gustav pushed off of his brother to get up, forcing his full weight on the bruised man. The violent prince exited the cell, nodding to the guards to close it. He looked down at his bloodied white gloves. A smirk emerged from his mouth. Gustav glanced back at Hans, crumpled on the wet ground. Hans spit out blood.

“Have a nice night!” Gustav strutted up the stairs, followed by the guards. Hans crawled over to his mat, the dirty rag sounding a lot better now. He curled up, letting a few tears escape with a muffled whine.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry. I know that ending was kinda depressing. When I was writing it I found it really tough to write. Gustav is legitimately scary, even to me. Don't worry things get better for Hans.


	3. An Uneasy Visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is something much lighter than the last chapter. I think after how chapter 2 ended it's kind of necessary.

 

It had been a week since Elsa wrote her letter to Hans. She had been nervous all week, desperate for a response. The antsy queen sat at her desk, shifting in her seat. Her nerves made the chair uncomfortable. Did her letter not arrive? Did Kristan not give it to him? Elsa was distracted from the work that lay on her desk. More menial things to sign. Not something she could concentrate on.

A knock on the door caught Elsa’s attention.

“Yes? What is it?” the queen asked impatiently.

“The mail from the Southern Isles has arrived. I was told to bring it directly to you when it did.” Elsa dashed to the door to open it. Before her stood a flustered guard with a carefully wrapped parcel. She snatched it from the poor man before remembering her manners.

“Thank you,” Elsa curtsied out of habit. She slammed the door shut and ripped the paper covering the parcel apart. There was a large envelope inside of it. Tearing it open, she dumped the contents on the bed and two letters fell onto the sheets. One carefully labelled “Kristan” and the other wrinkled and unmarked. Picking up the one labelled “Kristan”, she unfolded the letter and read it.

 

* * *

 

_Dear Queen Elsa,_

_I did receive the letter you wrote to my brother. I gave it to him immediately. I apologize for how long it took but Hans decided to take his time on the letter. I did not read it so I don’t know what it says. Best of luck._

_I also received your papers for our trade agreement. The first shipment should be arriving in a few days._

_Kristan_

 

* * *

 

Elsa gripped Kristan’s letter, slowly moving her glance to Hans’ letter. She gently put the elder brother’s letter down and picked up Hans’. She was nervous about what it would say.

_Do I want to know?_

_…_

_Yes._

Elsa couldn’t stand to wait any longer, hastily opening the letter. The queen anxiously eyed the letter in her hands. Ice seeped onto the paper from her fingertips. Elsa shut her eyes and focused.

_Stop it. Relax Elsa._

She slowly opened her eyes, seeing the ice recede. With a deep breath Elsa finally began reading the letter. Hans’ surprisingly neat handwriting adorned the paper.

 

* * *

 

_My Dear Queen Elsa,_

_I’m flattered you call me “prince”, but I am no longer welcome amongst the royal family._

_So, you want to know what I meant? I’ll tell you. But I have one condition: I’ll only tell you in person. Yes, you’ll have to come back to my dirty cell if you want to know._

_With love,_

_Former Prince Hans_

* * *

 

_That’s it? A few sentences?_

Elsa gave a deep sigh. Of course he wanted her to come back. But should she go? It might be selfish but she was dying to know. Elsa reread the letter over and over. He was deliberately being vague but she didn’t know how to respond to this. If she wrote back demanding an answer Hans would just repeat himself. The only way to find out was to visit. The queen lay down on the bed, exasperated over the situation.

_I need to talk to Anna._

Elsa sat up. She picked the letters up and folded them, sliding them back into the envelope. Rising from the bed she moved to her desk, putting the envelope in one of the drawers. She looked at the papers on her desk and told herself that she’d do them later. First, she had to find Anna.

Elsa left her room and made her way through the halls of the castle in her search. She found her younger sister in the dining hall eating. It was past lunch but it seemed that Anna had convinced the chefs to make her something to eat. She sat at the end of the large table with a large half eaten chocolate pie in front of her.

“Oh hi Elsa!!” Anna blurted out, in between chewing her food.

“Hello Anna,” Elsa smiled. She took a seat near her sister and sighed. Anna took a large bite of the pie.

“Problems with the trade stuff?” she managed to get out. Elsa wasn’t sure how to tell Anna what was really going on. The trade agreement was already settled. But she couldn’t tell her sister that she was thinking about going back to see Hans. There was no way she could tell Anna that.

“Yeah. I might have to go back to discuss a few more things,” Elsa almost kicked herself for lying. It wasn’t something she did to Anna, especially not since they reconnected.

“Well that sucks,” Anna pushed the pie over to her sister. “Pie?”

Elsa smiled. If there was anything that could make her feel better, it was chocolate and a talk with Anna. Grabbing the spoon from the dish she took a bite of the pie.

“You know what you need? A break!” Anna exclaimed.

“You mean a break where we do something stupid?”

“Yeah!” Anna replied with enthusiasm.

“Just let me finish the pie first.” Elsa dropped her polite manners and shoveled a large bite of pie into her mouth. “Mmmmm…”

_I don’t indulge enough_ , Elsa thought to herself.

But despite this moment of happiness, the thought of going back to the Southern Isles to get answers from Hans still weighed on her mind. Doing her best to keep from icing the pie, Elsa looked at her smiling sister and felt some relief. Even if Anna didn’t know, her being there was enough to give Elsa strength. Elsa finished the bite of pie and took a breath.

The snow queen made up her mind. She was going to go see Hans. With this surge of confidence and a smirk she spoke to her sister. With a flick of her wrist, she created a small flurry of snowflakes that slowly fell to the ground.

“Would you prefer a slide or a spiral staircase?”

Anna lit up.

 

* * *

 

Arriving at the docks of the Southern Isles two weeks later was less stressful than the last time, but no less uneasy. She only brought two guards with her this time. She at least felt safer after her first visit. It was talking to Hans that made her uneasy. Elsa gripped her ice dress. She was scared of what he would say. What similarities could they have between them? When she thinks of Hans her thoughts flip between him calming her at the ice castle and him trying to kill her on the fjord. She honestly didn’t have that clear of a picture of who Hans really was. There was so much mystery wrapped around him that Elsa feared what his real answer would be.

As she stood on the docks she noticed that ice had spread from her feet.

_Keep calm Elsa. You can do this,_ she told herself. _You have Kristan and Marianne here._

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves Elsa walked forward, her two guards following. Each step laid down less and less ice until her footsteps were normal.

Exchanging letters back and forth, Elsa informed Kristan of her return. He told her that he would have a carriage waiting for her to bring her to the castle, and that he would prepare things so that she could see Hans.

A ball bounced near Elsa, causing the queen to stop. Her guards braced themselves and pointed their spears and the small bouncing object. Elsa sighed and raised her hand to put the guards at ease. A small boy, who looked around 4 years old ran over to the ball.

“Hello!” The small boy said to Elsa. He had brown hair and wore clothing Elsa thought looked too expensive for a small village child. Scanning the docks for his parents all she saw were a few Southern Isle guards watching the boy.

Deciding to make sure the boy found his parents, Elsa knelt down to his level.

“Hello. Are your parents around?” Elsa asked the child in a gentle voice.

“Uh-huh! My mommy is over there!” he replied pointing towards the direction he ran from. Elsa checked in that direction but didn’t see any women there.

“So are you playing right now?” Elsa asked him. The little boy smiled.

“Yes! But I wish I had a puppy to play with. Mommy said she doesn’t mind but that grandma and grandpa won’t like it.” The boy said sadly. Elsa wasn’t going to let this injustice endure.

“Do you want to see something really cool?” The little boy nodded and hopped excitedly. Elsa stood up and took a few steps back.

“Check this out!” Elsa called as she flung her hands out. A flurry flew out and spun on the spot she focused on. A snowman grew out of the flurry. It was closer to Marshmallow than Olaf, but it immediately sprang to life. The boy hugged it quickly, a huge smile plastered over his face. Elsa returned his smile.

“Thank you, Lady!” he squealed.  Almost forgetting, Elsa summoned a cloud to keep the snowman cold.

“Philip! Philip! Where did you go?” a familiar voice called. The boy immediately turned to the source of the voice.

“Mommy!” he called out, holding onto his new friend. Elsa quickly glanced over to see Marianne walking over with a few guards following her. She knelt down and the little boy ran into her open arms.

“Hey honey, I told you not to run off like that” Marianne looked up at Elsa smiling. “Hello Elsa. I see you’ve met my son.” Elsa was a little taken aback by this new information.

“But mom I stayed by the guards. They were safe. I also met a lady!” Philip proclaimed. Marianne gave him a thoughtful smile.

“I take it this is yours and Kristan’s child?” Elsa asked. She could feel the awkwardness of every word.

“Yes! This is Philip. Say hello to Queen Elsa, Philip,” Marianne instructed the boy. He smiled and stood at attention.

“Hello, Queen Elsa! I am Prince Philip of the Southern Isles!” He proclaimed and then gasped for air. “I’m going to be king one day!”

“Well hello, Prince Philip,” Elsa returned in a proper tone, feeling goofy as she said it. She gave a curtsey in her ice dress. The new snowman ran up to Philip.

“Mommy I also made a new friend!” he shouted while he gave the snowman a big hug. Marianne looked quite surprised.

“Wow! Elsa…did you do this?” she asked. Marianne quickly laughed. “I guess that’s silly question to ask.”

“Uhm…yes! I can make living snowmen… It’s… sort of a thing… I can do,” Elsa had never really put any thought into explaining how she could do that.

“Mommy, when is daddy gonna be done? I want to show him my new friend!” Philip butted in impatiently.

Marianne turned back to her son.

“Now Philip, you know daddy has to talk with grandpa. And-“

“Uh-huh, grandpa doesn’t like being interrupted,” Philip recited. Clearly this wasn’t the first time he’s heard that. Marianne smiled at the boy.

“But you know what you _can_ do? You can help the chef prepare the food!”

“But grandpa hates it when I do that!” Philip said excitedly.

“I know,” Marianne replied with a big smile. “And that’s what makes it fun.” Philip smiled back at his mother.

“Okay!” he blurted and ran off towards the castle.

“Don’t forget to go with the guards!” Marianne called. Philip halted and then bolted towards a guard. She stood up.

“Can you bring me to the castle?” Philip politely asked the guard, barely standing still to ask the question. The guard nodded silently and signaled to a handful of other guards to come with him. They escorted a running Philip to the castle.

Marianne sighed. She turned to Elsa with a slightly worn expression.

“He’s a handful but he’s just a bundle of joy.”

“I didn’t realize you and Kristan had a child,” the young queen stated, still processing the new information.

“Yeah, I had him a year or so after we were married,” Marianne explained.

“Well…congratulations!” Elsa felt stupid for saying that.  Marianne laughed.

“Thank you, Elsa.”

“And Kristan’s father doesn’t want him cooking? I’m really not all that surprised, given what I’ve seen.” Marianne sighed.

“He thinks that cooking is ‘beneath’ royalty. That only the poor have to cook. I like messing with him though,” Marianne said with a smirk.

“And Philip won’t get in trouble?” Elsa asked

“No no. Philip is going to be the heir one day. Magnus loves his heirs. Not me so much,” Marianne started to sound annoyed. “I’m pretty sure both of them still see me as the _baby maker_.” Elsa felt like she was missing something.

“I’m sure that if you and Kristan loved each other his parents would be more accepting of you.” A faint smile broke Marianne’s annoyed look.

“I didn’t tell you how Kristan and I met did I?”

“Uh…no you didn’t,” Elsa replied, even more confused.

“Our wedding was arranged. I didn’t even meet him until I walked up to the altar,” Marianne explained, with a plain expression.

“Oh…I…I didn’t know,” Elsa felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment. She felt so awkward. Marianne waved it off.

“Oh dear it’s alright. It all worked out,” she reassured Elsa with a smile. “Kristan is the best man I could have asked for to be my husband. After our wedding, he told me that he wanted us to at least be friends.”

Elsa admired how Marianne and Kristan found love. She wondered if she would be able to find something even remotely close to what they have.

“Well, from what Kristan told me you weren’t here to talk to me,” Marianne said, subtly changing the subject.

“Ah yes…I’m here to talk….” Elsa wasn’t sure if she should mention Hans publicly.

“Yes, I know. Kristan told me,” Marianne interrupted to save her from mentioning Hans.

But Elsa suddenly saw Kristan appear from behind Marianne. He put a finger to his lips to signal to Elsa to keep it quiet. He ran up to his wife and quickly picked her up, spinning her around.

“Ahhh! Kristan!!” Marianne screamed as her husband spun her. He set her down and she gave him a kiss. Kristan gazed into his wife’s eyes momentarily before turning to Elsa.

“Welcome back to the Southern Isles Queen Elsa. I’m glad you decided to return,” the prince said with a smile.

“Thank you, Kristan. But I’d rather…do this quickly,” Elsa responded. Kristan nodded.

“Of course,” Marianne smiled. She looked towards her husband. “Well dear it seems you have some business to attend to. I’ll go make sure Philip is having fun.” She gave Kristan a kiss on the cheek before leaving. Kristan’s eyes were glued to his wife as she made her way to the castle, waving to her as she turned back and waved. As she climbed into her carriage Kristan moved his attention to Elsa once more.

“Well, we should make our way to the castle,” Kristan said in a slightly disappointed sigh.

Elsa followed Kristan silently through the docks, her two guards silently following her. She hoped her nervousness wasn’t showing. The queen wanted to be confident when she confronted Hans, and did her best to keep her chin up. Kristan could tell that Elsa was uneasy about meeting his brother again.

“Are you alright, Elsa?” Kristan asked her, glancing back towards her. Elsa quickly moved her attention to Kristan.

“Yes. I am.” Elsa was lying. Kristan smiled.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my brothers it’s how to see through a lie.”

This made Elsa think. She hadn’t thought much of Hans’ brothers outside of Kristan.

“No I’m not. I’m feeling a bit nervous about this, to be honest,” the snow queen admitted.

“Trust me when I say that Hans is far from the worst brother to deal with. Despite how difficult he can be to talk to he’s still capable of manners.” Elsa felt there were a lot of unsaid things hiding behind the prince’s words.

“What are…the rest of your brothers like?” Elsa inquired. Kristan paused and stopped near one of the docks.

“Well…” Kristan wasn’t sure where to start. “They’re not all like Hans if that’s what you mean. Besides me there’s Kasper, who handles politics with foreign countries. He would actually be meeting with you but I wanted to handle this personally due to Hans’….actions in your country. Erik and Abel, they’re twins, used to be troublemakers but they’ve gotten better. Frederick is the second eldest but he’d rather not socialize with anyone. And he….doesn’t particularly like me.”

Elsa was a bit confused on how Frederick wouldn’t like Kristan. Kristan looked distressed at the thought of the subject.

“But that’s family matters. Nothing to do with Hans. My other brothers are not nice, to put it simply. But the only ones you need to stay away from are Gustav and Daniel.” Elsa was trying to process all of what Kristan was telling her. Family life with the Westergaards was significantly more complicated than she had anticipated.  Elsa was broken from that thought when she heard a familiar voice screaming.

“NIELS! GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!” John came running down a flight of stairs, red faced from the screaming. Elsa’s guards readied themselves but Elsa pushed their weapons down again. Kristan immediately looked out towards the sea. John stopped in front of Kristan and Elsa, heavily panting. He looked towards Elsa surprised.

“My lady!” He blurted out before panting again. Kristan sighed and pointed out Niels in the bay.

“Queen Elsa, that would be one of my youngest brothers. Niels,” Kristan said with a slightly annoyed tone and his hand lazily thrown out to direct Elsa’s attention. Elsa scanned the bay and found the man riding a sort of board with a small sail attached to it. He was jumping off the waves and heading right for them.

“He’s _supposed_ to be doing a naval exercise right now,” spat John, overcoming his panting to comment on his annoyance of Niels. Elsa took a step back as Niels sped towards the docks. Kristan chuckled at his brother.

“Don’t worry, Queen Elsa. Niels won’t do anything. Well he’ll do something silly but that’s just his personality.” Elsa wasn’t sure how reassured she felt. A glance down revealed that ice was spreading from her feet. She didn’t feel in danger but the current events were rather stressful.

Niels reached the docks, and instead of stopping he just rammed right into the stone docks, destroying the board he was riding and sending him flying forward. He clumsily rolled up to the two other royals and stood up just short of Elsa. He was extremely close to Elsa, leaning forward with a large smile on his face.

“Hello! I heard you had arrived!” Niels excitedly spat out. Elsa took a step back from him, taking in his features. He looked remarkably like Hans, even more so than Kristan. The white uniform he wore would have made it difficult to tell him and Hans apart at a distance. His hair was the same color, if a bit more ruffled. He had a slightly wider face accompanied by what seems to be the family tradition of sideburns. He was definitely taller than Hans, but not as tall as Kristan. But the main thing that Elsa thought really set him from Hans was the constant smile on his face. The look of pure joy and happiness was seemingly plastered on. Elsa’s thoughts were broken when Niels grabbed her hand and started shaking it.

“I’m so pleased to meet you!!” Niels exclaimed with sheer honest happiness. John looked like he was about to blow a gasket.

“Niels! Give the queen a proper greeting!” John blasted at the young prince.

“OH!” Niels had forgotten about the traditional bow. He went down to one knee.

“Oh, Niels. That’s not necessary,” Elsa told him, putting her hand up. Niels shot back up.

“Okay good cause I hate doing that!” Niels exclaimed. John smacked his face with his hand so hard everyone could hear it.

“Prince Niels! We need to get back to the exercise!” the captain was obviously trying not to scream. Niels started to pout.

“Oh John. Can’t I talk to the queen? I didn’t get to meet her last time!” Elsa was standing there confused at the fact that people here wanted to talk to her. Of course, she was foreign royalty but Niels seemed extremely eager. It was then that Elsa realized something. Niels reminded her a lot of Anna. Suddenly his joy and goofiness were actually comforting because it was like having Anna there.

“Fine Niels. You _are_ a prince. But it’s my duty to make sure you’re doing what you’re supposed to,” John was sounding exhausted. Niels smiled and grabbed his shoulders.

“Don’t worry John! It’s not like my parents care about me! There’s nothing to worry about if I slack off!” Niels wasn’t at all concerned with what he just said. It upset John how aware he was of his parents’ negligence, but he didn’t show it.

“Niels. Just make sure to get back to the training exercise when you’re done talking with Queen Elsa,” John instructed with a point of his finger. “I do…have other matters to deal with.” Kristan spoke up to change the subject.

“John, Kasper will need to work on details of the security for his negotiation next week. He’s in the library right now preparing for it,” Kristan said to John. John nodded. Before leaving he turned to Elsa.

“Good day to you, Queen Elsa. I apologize that I keep meeting you while I’m stressed,” he calmly said with a bow.

“It’s really no trouble,” Elsa tried to wave it off. “Things in Arendelle are crazy too,” she gave an awkward smile. John headed off. Niels turned to Elsa smiling.

“So, I hear that you’re going to talk to Hans!” Niels blurted without phasing. Elsa and Kristan went wide-eyed.

“Niels! Let’s…. keep this quiet,” Kristan asked his brother, quickly looking around to see if anyone heard it. Niels clasped both hands over his mouth.

“Sorry!” Niels gave a muffled apology through his hands.

“It’s alright, Niels, just…” Kristan hushed his voice, “this is a sensitive subject for the people,” the elder prince reassured his brother. Niels removed his hands from his mouth. There was an awkward silence.

“Yes, I am talking to him,” Elsa said, breaking the silence. Niels gave a big smile and shook her hand.

“Thank you! I hope you can help because he won’t talk to any of us!” Niels blurted again. Kristan’s face formed a frown.

“I do, too,” the crown prince said. Elsa noticed his sad expression.

“So how do you like the Southern Isles?” Niels inquired. Elsa was taken aback by his unwavering enthusiasm given the previous subject.

“It’s nice. Not really what I had imagined before I came. It’s actually fairly similar to Arendelle.”

“Wonderful! I’d love to visit Arendelle sometime!” Niels exclaimed. Elsa gave a chuckle.

“I think you’d get along well with my sister,” Elsa pictured the trouble Niels and Anna would get into. It stressed her out.

“We’ll have to go there sometime, Kristan!”

“We should, at some point,” the eldest brother smiled.

“Hooray! Oh! I guess I should get back to the exercise!” Niels exclaimed before giving Elsa an over exaggerated bow and running off.

 “He’s certainly odd, isn’t he?” Kristan said, watching his brother run off. “But trust me he’s one of the better brothers. Maybe the best of us.”

Elsa pondered the thought of sweet Niels being surrounded by the bad brothers Kristan has mentioned. She had a hard time imagining how Niels came out so positive. Then again, Anna came out positive from being alone all those years. Guilt started overcoming Elsa at the thought of it.

“Shall we go?” Kristan asked, breaking Elsa’s focus.

“Yes, Kristan. Let’s get this over with.” Elsa followed Kristan towards the castle.

 

The trip on their way to Hans was a quiet one. Elsa went over and over in her head what to say. She didn’t know how to approach Hans. He said they were similar. How? Kristan noticed her restlessness.

“Elsa, it will be alright,” Kristan tried to comfort her.

“I know, but I can’t shake the fear of what Hans is going to say.”

“The unknown truth can be a very terrifying thing,” Kristan paused. “But it’s better to know than to worry about not knowing.” Elsa sat on his advice. They were wise words but Elsa still felt uneasy.

“I suppose that’s true…” Elsa closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She wasn’t going to handle this well if she let her fears grip her like that.

He said he understood the loneliness. Knowing more about his family she can understand having troubles, but when he had Kristan and Niels how could be lonely? Both of them seem like they care a great deal about Hans. And how could his loneliness compare to the years of self-inflicted isolation she went through? Hans tried to kill her to take her throne… Was that what he meant? That she was like him? Someone who would hurt people? She did hurt Anna. Locking her out completely and never talking to her for fear of hurting her. And almost killing her twice with her powers.

_You’re not a monster Elsa_

The queen wished it was so easy to believe herself.

They arrived at the castle, and Kristan escorted Elsa to the dungeon. She instructed her guards to stay outside as Kristan had the dungeon guards open the door.

“I am Crown Prince Kristan. The Queen of Arendelle would like to see the prisoner,” Kristan said with a very royal tone.

The guard silently picked the key from his belt and opened the door. He stepped inside and made his way down the stone steps, opening the gates for Elsa. She proceeded down the dark steps behind him. It hadn’t been too long since she had last been here but it still felt incredibly haunting.

The guard left Elsa at the last gate. If she was going to turn back this was her last chance.

_No. I’ve come too far to just leave now._

The snow queen stepped forward and turned the corner to find the familiar sight of Hans in his cell. He didn’t react to her approaching him at first, but slowly raised his head as she neared his cage.

“I almost didn’t expect you to come,” Hans slyly opened. Elsa noticed he looked in even rougher shape than he did last time she saw him.

“I’m here for answers Hans. Nothing more,” the pale queen retorted. She wasn’t in the mood to play games with Hans. The disgraced prince chuckled.

“Well well. It’s straight to the point with you,” he was teasing her but his expression was more serious. She could tell the mirroring thing hadn’t stopped. Elsa waved her hand and ice swirled in front of her to form an elaborately designed chair made of ice. She sat in it, crossed her legs out of habit and looked at Hans.

“Tell me what you meant,” Elsa said, with no stutter or hesitation. Hans frowned. He took joy from the game and wanted to make this last as long as possible. He composed himself, straightened his posture and spoke.

“If you insist. You want to know what I meant. I’ll tell you. Just one thing.”

“ _What_. What is it?” Elsa was getting impatient.

“You came all the way to the Southern Isles. Of course, to discuss trade with my brother. Why bother coming down to my little hole? What would make you possibly want to see me?” Han ended his jab with a smirk and Elsa felt the thought of his handsomeness creep in again.

_Stop it, Elsa_

She restrained the thought. It wasn’t something she wanted to feel. She had to answer this question to get a straight answer out of Hans.

“If you want to know the truth,” the pale queen started. “It was because I wanted to give you a piece of my mind. One final jab at you before I left.” Elsa turned her head, feeling somewhat embarrassed to admit it. Hans’ eyebrows raised in curiosity.

“Interesting…” Elsa felt Hans’ smirk. She hated how he could get to her like that. “You wanted to come in just to insult me? Very un-queenly of you,” the disgraced prince remarked. Elsa kept looking away to avoid his smug glare. She only turned to face him when she was sure he didn’t have a smug look on his face.

“I gave you want you wanted. Now tell me.”

Hans sat up straight and fixed his expression to a more neutral one. Elsa looked back at him and he met her gaze with his own. He managed to reclaim at least part of his lost nobility. A slight look of confusion filled his face, no doubt matching her own surprise to see him manage to look at least somewhat dignified in his dirty clothes.

“What I meant was…” he trailed off. Elsa felt her palms sweat from the anticipation. Ice frosted her chair and seeped onto the floor. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know anymore. “Your situation was not that different from mine.”

_What?_

“You spent years alone, locked up in your room, avoiding your sister at all costs,” Hans started. Elsa hated being reminded of the years she neglected Anna. Her cheeks burned, embarrassed at the thought.

“I spent years being alone, refusing to see any of my brothers,” Hans continued.

“At least you still have your parents!” Elsa angrily retorted. She didn’t like hearing him compare himself to her like that. She only did what she did to keep Anna from being hurt.

“And what difference does it make?” Hans returned Elsa’s anger. “My parents barely acknowledged my existence, and when they did it was to scold or demean me. Most of the time they ignored me. I know what it’s like to not have parents.”

Elsa sat back. As much as she wanted to yell back she couldn’t help but feel pity for Hans. Hans leaned back and relaxed his pose. His words eased down from the anger.

“You know it too, don’t you Queen Elsa? The thought that you’re nothing but a burden. That things would be easier if you weren’t around. You want to talk but all you say are hurtful things”

Elsa froze. _Go away Anna_ echoed in her mind. His words cut through her again, hitting her deep. She gripped her ice dress.

“You elected to keep yourself isolated. That’s something I know too well. There were times I spent weeks without even leaving my room.”

“But I did what I did out of love,” the queen shot. The similarities were disturbing but she made sure to maintain the differences.

“Of course,” Hans replied, putting his chained hands up in mock defense. “I won’t deny I hate my brothers and would keep myself as far away from them as possible. But it’s still isolation. It’s still a lonely existence. I’m sure _you_ understand.”

The sad part was… Elsa did. She knew the feelings all too well. She closed her eyes and sighed. The ice that had grown receded as her nerves calmed. There was an awkward pause as Hans waited for her response. In a way, she was relieved. All this worry and anxiety over what he would say and it seemed to fizzle out. He did know the loneliness. But he didn’t know the love she had for Anna.

“Yes, I do,” She admitted. “I know what that feels like. I spent years isolating myself. I’m guessing you heard all that from Anna.” Hans’ expression moved to a more somber look.

“Not just her. Your reputation proceeded you.”

“My reputation?” Elsa inquired.

“I knew you were a loner when I first arrived in Arendelle. The talk of the castle finally opening and people finally seeing the new queen after so many years.” Hans shifted to more casual tone. “Would you be surprised if I said that marrying Anna wasn’t even my original plan to take the throne?”

Elsa felt odd. The conversation started feeling…. Comfortable.

“Then enlighten me what you planned,” Elsa teased. Hans laughed.

“My plan, dear queen, was to marry _you_ ,” Hans delivered with a completely straight face. Elsa felt her chest tighten and cheeks burn. Marry… _her?_ Hans let a smile creep across his face.

_Why does he have to be handsome,_ Elsa regretted her own thoughts.

“I can see you weren’t expecting that one. Yes indeed, my plan was to marry you and become King of Arendelle.”

“And then kill me after the marriage?” Elsa sassily responded. Hans shrugged.

“Not if I didn’t have to.”

“Are you serious?” Elsa wasn’t sure to believe him.

“Of course. Why would I? I want to be king not having the country chasing me with torches and pitchforks. If I could be king for the rest of my life with no trouble that’s a victory in my book,” Hans casually answered. Elsa raised an eyebrow to this.

“But when I realized that you weren’t exactly going to be sociable I thought I’d try to marry Anna, which turned out to be a lot easier than I expected.” Elsa rolled her eyes.

“Well that’s an understatement. Even I didn’t expect her to try to get married to you hours after you met. I’m sure you planned my demise for soon after.” Her sarcastic remarks earned Hans’s unsaid approval.

“At some point, yes. So I could rule Arendelle with Anna. Well I would rule. I don’t think she’d be interested in that.”

“Do _you_ even know what ruling a country entails? All the meetings, talking to advisors every day, having to make difficult rulings, stressful negotiations with neighboring countries.” She rambled, getting more dramatic as she listed all the things that stressed her out during her rule. “It’s a lot more than sitting on a throne looking pretty,” Elsa felt Hans didn’t have a full grasp on the responsibilities of ruling a country.

“So you think I’m pretty?” Hans said eagerly. Elsa almost laughed at the response.

“Maybe if you wash your face a little,” Elsa jokingly said motioning her hand over her face to mimic washing her face. Hans smiled smugly. He hadn’t had this much fun in years.

“To answer your question, Elsa, I am very familiar with how countries run. I’ve observed how my elder brothers run things. Well my _sane_ brothers. I’ve studied politics and negotiation tactics and I think I’m pretty good at handling people.”

 “Well _former_ Prince Hans I’d be glad to take a day off and let you run things then. Just as long as you don’t usurp my throne,” the snow queen taunted. Hans continued to smile.

“I can’t make any promises.”

“That’s very reassuring,” Elsa sarcastically spat. Hans put his hands up in a shrug.

“What can I say? I just want to be king.”

“Enough to kill?”

“It was only because you were such a dangerous opponent,” Hans spoke in a playful tone.

“Oh, so we’re rivals now?” Elsa laughed internally at the idea.

“Well I’d love to be your rival.”

“Sorry Hans I’m not taking on a new rival. Stress is already enough of one.”

“Then how about a friend? I’d love to be a friend.”

_He can’t honestly be serious_ , Elsa thought to herself. She found herself amused at the banter.

“Friend?” Elsa laughed, unable to take Hans’ last line seriously. “You tried to kill me and my sister.”

“Ah, it was worth a try,” Hans said, almost sounding disappointed.

“Worth a try? Why would you think that?”

“Because, Queen, you seem to be awfully interested in our little talk here,” Hans locked eyes with Elsa. She might be mistaken but she was actually… enjoying talking to him. After getting past the initial topic this turned out to be quite relaxing. But she would watch herself to make sure Hans isn’t trying to manipulate her. Elsa shifted in her seat and uncrossed her legs. She finally answered Hans’ remark.

“Touché, Hans. I am liking this conversation,” the snow queen admitted, easier than she had expected.

“Then perhaps we can do this again.”

“When would you propose we do this again?” Elsa was curious to what his response was going to be.

“Tomorrow. You bring the wine and I’ll make dinner,” Hans replied as if there was nothing odd about any of this.

“I’m afraid I can’t. I’ll be very busy,” the queen responded.

“Well then when _will_ you be free?” Hans sounded honest when he said that. Elsa wasn’t quite prepared to give an honest answer.

“It would be a while.  I don’t- I don’t know,” now she was unsure. Should she even humor the idea?

“We could write,” Hans suggested. Elsa got the feeling that this wasn’t a joke and he was seriously suggesting this. It was like a negotiation and he was trying to get her to come back. Hans didn’t look like a man who was playing a game right now. And she had noticed that he hadn’t been mirroring her as much as he had the last time they talked.

“…I can do that,” Elsa relented. Part of her screamed that this was a bad idea, but a bigger part of her wanted this. While she loves Anna, she doesn’t want to burden her with her problems. Hans smiled.

“Just tell Kristan so he can bring me things to write you with,” Hans didn’t want to be too open but he was hoping to get to talk to her again. Elsa has been one of the few good things since he was imprisoned.

“I can’t visit anytime soon though,” the queen responded. Truthfully, she couldn’t. She was pushing it with this trip. If she kept coming back saying she was negotiating deals would be a joke of an excuse. If she was going to come back she would have to be more careful. “But I’ll see about it.”

“Good,” was Hans’ simply reply. He locked eyes with Elsa. She noticed that despite his demeanor he seemed worn and exhausted.

_It’s getting late_ , Elsa thought.

“I apologize Hans, but I should be going. I’ll need to be back soon,” the queen calmly said as she rose from her seat. With a wave of her hand the ice chair disappeared.

“And now our pleasant conversation comes to an end,” Hans said with an overly enthusiastic smile. His eyes betrayed him. Elsa knew he was sad she was leaving.

_Who would have thought?_ Elsa pondered.          

Before the snow queen turned to leave, a thought came to her.

“Hans, you should really talk to your brothers. At least Kristan and Niels.” Elsa subconsciously held her breath, wondering if bringing this up was a bad idea. Hans scoffed.

“And why? To have them try to ‘fix’ me? To waste my time trying to make up for a lifetime of not caring?” Hans spat. Elsa felt her heart sink. She had ruined the mood. But that wasn’t going to stop her.

“Because I know at the very least that Kristan and Niels care. Kristan wants to help you. When I finally opened up to Anna after years of keeping her out of my life things became so much easier.” Elsa saw Hans look down. He seemed upset. Not out of anger, as far as she could tell, but more out of some kind of internal struggle. He didn’t respond.

Hans hated it when people told him to listen to his brothers. Of course, he knows they want to help him. Of course, they’re doing everything in their power to make things easier. But after all the things he went through, after all the suffering, was he supposed to just accept that help? If Hans had one thing to cling to, it was his pride, no matter how much easier giving it up would make things.

Elsa saw that he was going to have to sit on that.

“Well prince Hans, I bid you farewell. I’ll… write when I can,” Elsa ended the conversation, wishing that Hans would be more open to help. She curtsied and turned to leave the cell, her heels seeming to click louder on the dirty stone than they did coming in, ringing through the quiet dungeon.

But before leaving she paused and turned back to face Hans.

“Hans… Don’t be the monster they fear you are,” Elsa echoed his own words with genuine care.

Hans watched as Elsa’s ice dress sparkled in the dull light before disappearing around the corner.

 

 


	4. The Easy Choice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m really glad to get back to writing this fic. It’s been really fun and I’m glad that so many people have enjoyed it. Though I do have to apologize for taking so long between each chapter. For everyone who started reading this as I was writing I know the wait has been long. For everyone who just recently discovered this you get a new chapter a lot faster. This chapter was originally going to be a bit shorter but it turned out to run longer than I had anticipated. I have an outline for chapter 5 and I’ve started on that, so I’ll try to get that out relatively soon. Relatively being the key word. What happens in this chapter started as the beginning of the original chapter 4 but as I was writing it was getting too long for a prologue, and the structure felt off to me, so I decided to make this its own chapter. I hope you enjoy it!

 

 

Elsa was focused on the letter. She sat at the old table surrounded by her advisors with a pile of papers in front of her, and buried in the pile was a letter from Hans. The snow queen was in the middle of reading the letter when she was called into the meeting, leading her to hastily hide it in the papers she had prepared. She played a bit with the papers by moving them with her fingers in an attempt to distract herself from the immense boredom of having to sit and discuss politics for hours on end. Elsa pulled the letter out from under the pile just enough to see a few words from it.

She had traded letters with Hans several times in the weeks since her last visit. He had written her a letter inviting her back again to talk. Despite continuing contact with him, Elsa hadn’t been properly thinking ahead as to how she should deal with this. She certainly enjoyed the conversation they had and replayed it in her head multiple times since she came back to Arendelle. Her feelings on the matter switched back and forth between comfort and unease. There were times when she felt elated and relaxed thinking about it but then the thought of actually committing to seeing Hans caused her to feel unsure about herself again. Was this something she was really going to do?

“Queen Elsa?” An advisor asked. The bored, pale queen snapped back into focus. She had barely been paying attention to what they were saying.

“Yes?” She instinctively blurted out. She was trying to pay closer attention to these meetings but after the first couple of hours it became difficult to focus.

“We were discussing the latest shipment from the Southern Isles,” he responded to the queen, pushing his glasses up. “It arrived this morning. It seems that everything from the shipping manifest is there.” Some of the other advisors looked annoyed.

 “That’s certainly a surprise,” One of them scoffed. Egil. Elsa didn’t like his tone. He was always the most difficult one.  She may have missed what was going on here, but she was sure she knew what this was about.

“And why is that?” Elsa challenged him. He suddenly started to look uncomfortable. Egil swallowed, realizing he was about to argue with the queen. He pulled on the lapels of his blue suit, trying to look more confident.

“I didn’t expect the Southern Isles of all places to reliably send goods so consistently.” Elsa’s hunch was correct. They still had issues with doing trade with the Southern Isles. The young queen straightened her posture and took a deep, quiet breath.

_You can do this._

“I understand that not everyone is satisfied with my choice to become trade partners with the Southern Isles after what happened with Hans,” Elsa stated firmly. She was going to put her foot down on this. “But after we broke relations with Weselton we lost quite a lot of goods we imported from them. While it doesn’t seem ideal to choose the Southern Isles, I have personally spoken with their crown prince and negotiated a deal. It has provided us with many of the goods we need, and I’ve contacted our other trade partners to see if I can renegotiate to make up for the rest of what we used to get from Weselton.” Elsa was glad to be able to get that all out. The queen felt hot and words were getting harder to put together. Her head started to feel light and she could feel her cheeks heating up. She hoped this wouldn’t go on too long. She hated having to get confrontational with her advisors. It always made everything so uncomfortable. However, Elsa felt extremely confident about the trade deal she made with Kristan. It had been a great help to Arendelle. She might still be new at being a queen but she wasn’t going to let her advisors run her over.

Egil slumped back in his chair without responding. The other advisors looked awkwardly at each other. The logic behind Elsa’s choice was difficult to argue with. The tall advisor pushed his glasses up. He was hoping this wouldn’t get too heated. His deep voice broke the silence.

“I believe Queen Elsa is sound with her choice. Had she not negotiated that trade deal Arendelle would have ended up in quite a predicament,” The advisor spoke up. The pale queen was surprised. While he had never been difficult, Harald tended to remain neutral.

“Thank you, Harald,” Elsa thanked him. Harald was considered a leading figure amongst the advisors. He knew her parents before they died and was a strong political figure that helped run Arendelle while Elsa and Anna grew up. Elsa had endured so many boring meetings with advisors who have been skeptical of her. It felt nice to feel like someone else was on her side.

It was then that Elsa noticed that there was ice on her chair. She closed her eyes and took a breath. Elsa felt her heartbeat slow down, only realizing now how fast it was beating. The ice receded.

_I wish these meetings weren’t so stressful_ , Elsa mused to herself. Harald decided to change the topic of the discussion. He had waited long enough to support the heir of Agnarr and Iduna.

“Your Majesty, we have gotten reports from the scouts that were sent to the border. So far there has been evidence that something has happened there but nothing conclusive. They have reported to Captain Aksel and he’s chosen to keep them searching to be thorough,” Harald explained. “He’d like to know if you approve of that choice or if you want to change course.”

Elsa pondered this for a minute. She hadn’t been queen for very long and she didn’t want to give the wrong impression to Weselton by having extra troops at the border.

“I’ll have to discuss this with Captain Aksel,” Elsa said. “I’ll need to evaluate the options with someone more experienced.” There were sighs from among the advisors. Harald gathered up his papers.

“I believe we’ll have to wait until after Queen Elsa has talked to Captain Aksel to discuss action,” Harald said.

“Well… with that out of the way there’s the matter of preparing the Yule Bell,” A shorter advisor named Cort stated. “We haven’t rung the bell since the passing of King Agnarr and Queen Iduna. It’s been in storage for three years gathering dust. It might be time to bring it back out.”

The Yule Bell. It had been a long time since it was last taken out. It was always tradition for the royalty of Arendelle to ring the bell to start the holidays but after her parents died at sea Elsa couldn’t bear to bring the bell out. She had memories of her whole family ringing the bell. Those fond memories were painful reminders of what she and Anna had lost, and it was only now that Elsa was starting to feel comfortable about it.

“I agree,” Elsa responded. “Now is the best time to bring it out. Anna and I can ring the bell. We can have Kristoff be the master of ceremonies.”

“Are you referring to Princess Anna’s boyfriend?” A stout middle-aged advisor named Herman asked.

“I am referring to the Royal Ice Master,” Elsa retorted. The position hadn’t existed until Elsa had invented it just a few months ago, but she would still insist on that title. She _was_ the queen after all. “He will be the master of ceremonies. I’ve already decided.” Elsa almost laughed. It may have been a little petty but she would take the entertainment of having the authority to override her advisors. Herman looked unimpressed but didn’t argue with the queen. Even he was tired of the meeting.

The only advisor who hadn’t said anything was Anathon, who seemed to be content remaining out of the debates going on. The mustachioed advisor sat there leaning his face on his hand.

Harald spoke up.

“Well it seems we’ll have Kristoff act as the master of ceremonies for the ringing of the Yule Bell,” The elder advisor declared. “If the young man is willing to do it, I see no reason why he shouldn’t be allowed to.”

Egil and Herman looked annoyed.

_Please let this end_

Elsa felt like this meeting should have ended an hour ago. She was getting antsy now. They had discussed everything that was on the agenda and then some. She hadn’t even finished going over all the mail she received. Herman was about to say something when he was cut off.

“With that, I think we’ll end this meeting now and reconvene next week,” Arne stated, his angular face looking exhausted. “We can discuss what to do with the troops on the border after Queen Elsa discusses it with Captain Aksel.”

_Finally. It’s over_ , Elsa was relieved. Egil got up and stormed out of the room.

“A waste of time…” The advisor mumbled. Elsa barely heard him, but felt her face react in frustration to his words.

_I’m trying! You don’t understand the pressure I’m under!_ Elsa screamed internally. The advisors must have become so used to making decisions on their own over the last three years that having to go through Elsa must have been frustrating for them. But she couldn’t let that get to her. For now, she had to talk to Captain Aksel. As Harald passed her, he put a hand on Elsa’s shoulder. He didn’t say anything, but he locked eyes with the queen. She sensed that he wanted to apologize but he simply lacked the right words. He remained frozen still for a few brief seconds which felt much longer.  After he broke eye contact with Elsa, he left the room silently.

Feeling relieved that the meeting was over Elsa gathered her papers, making sure to hide the letter from Hans among them. Elsa gracefully pushed her chair from the table and walked out of the room. As she was walking down the hallway a guard jogged up to her.

“Queen Elsa, Captain Aksel is here to speak with you,” the guard said. This was good. Elsa had already planned to meet with the Captain for training. She could discuss the situation with him too.

“Tell the Captain that I’ll see him in a minute,” Elsa replied. The thought on Elsa’s mind at this moment was that she had to put the letter back in her room. She didn’t want it floating around where someone could find it.

“Alright, Your Majesty. I’ll inform Captain Aksel immediately,” The guard saluted his queen and ran back down the hall. Elsa headed to her room.

 

* * *

 

 

When the queen arrived in her room, she locked the door. Elsa walked over to her desk and set the papers on it. Elsa dropped her dress, created an ice dress and combed her hair back with her hands. She kicked the dress on the floor towards her bed, leaving it hanging off the edge. She turned her attention back to the desk.

Shuffling through the papers on her desk she pulled Hans’s letter from it and gave it another look.

 

\---------

_Dear Elsa,_

_If you want to know the best birthday I ever had was when I was eleven and one of the chefs baked a brioche cake for me. It was made with this wonderful strawberry crème. No one else from my family showed up for that birthday, which is why it was so good. And that night John gave me Sitron. He was just a little foal then. I wonder what they did with him? I heard you sent him back to the Southern Isles, but I haven’t heard what happened to him.  I have no doubt that Kristan kept him, but I refuse to talk to him. I do miss Sitron._

_If you’re having trouble with what to do for whatever is going on, I’m going to suggest that you find someone to give you military advice. I’m available to fill any position you have open._

_This cell is dark and boring. I’d adore you if you visited again._

_With Love, Hans_

\---------

 

_Visit again_...

She knew she had already spoken with Hans about this the last time she was in the Southern Isles, but the reality of it was setting in. Visiting him would require sailing back to the Southern Isles. She’d have to do it secretly to avoid having to answer too many questions. She’d have to do it during a time when she had enough of a gap in her very busy schedule to sneak off. There were so many variables Elsa would have to think about. But she’d have to do that later. Right now, she had to meet with Captain Aksel. She put the letter in a drawer in her desk where she kept all of Hans’ letters and locked it. The tired queen left her room, making sure to lock the door, and headed towards the courtyard.

Captain Aksel was the recently appointed head of the Arendelle Royal Guard. In the months since Elsa reopened the gates to the people, she had been hiring more staff to deal with things. Her parents had fired a large amount of the castle’s staff in an effort to hide her growing powers, and this sadly included many dedicated guards who were confused about suddenly losing their jobs. Elsa had made an effort to rehire as many of the people who were fired as she could to attempt to make it up to them, even if it was years late. While the snow queen couldn’t find everyone, and some people were so bitter about losing their jobs that they refused to come back, she managed to rehire many people who used to work at the castle.

One of them was Aksel, who used to be a castle guard back when Elsa and Anna were children. He was always nice to them and it was a shame to see him get fired without even understanding why. He had spent those years since as a mercenary wandering from kingdom to kingdom. Those travels gave him experience Elsa felt would be valuable to Arendelle’s small military.

Elsa walked out to the courtyard where she found Captain Aksel waiting. There were a handful of tables scattered about the courtyard that were going to be used later that night. Anna and Kristoff were handling a charity event and were off in town gathering supplies for it. The temperature was starting to become chilly during late November. The year had been pretty warm, but it looked like the cold was catching up. Not that Elsa noticed. When the Captain heard the queen approach he turned around and gave a quick bow.

“Your Majesty,” he said as he bowed.

“What did you want to talk to me about Captain?” Elsa asked him. He looked concerned, which didn’t make Elsa feel better.

“I wanted to discuss the situation at the border,” Aksel didn’t waste any time. The Captain was a middle-aged man with broad shoulders and a square jaw. He had a scar that went across his nose and the right side of his face. Aksel had tried to remain clean shaven since he took up the position as Captain of the Royal Guard, but he always tended to have stubble. His black messy hair was mostly covered by his shako hat, which was more elaborate than the usual guard hats with wings embroidered on the side and a special symbol on the front marking his position. Over his uniform he wore an embroidered capelet that matched the green of his uniform.

“The men you sent to the border have reported numerous things to me,” Aksel continued. “There’s been bandit activity there, and the scouts have informed me that they have been striking small villages near the border. That may have been the source of the individuals that were originally reported. Though they have robbed several people they seem to be playing things relatively safe. No one seems to have been severely hurt in any of these robberies.  The only thing that stuck out to me was that some of the bandits that were captured had equipment branded from the Weselton Army. Unfortunately, those men escaped with all the equipment.”

That was concerning for Elsa. Could Weselton be trying to attack Arendelle? Of course, the Duke was a fool who tried to have Elsa killed, but last she had heard was that he had been dishonorably discharged from his position due to screwing up the trade deal with Arendelle. She hoped this wasn’t some revenge scheme. Elsa wasn’t sure she would be able to deal with a war. Arendelle had soldiers, of course, but their standing army was fairly small, especially compared to Weselton. A small army and an inexperienced leader would be a disaster. Even her advisors had never dealt with a real military conflict.

“What do you think we should do? Do you think Wease-Weselton is trying to start a conflict?” Elsa asked the Captain.

“I can’t be sure. The Weselton equipment certainly raises some flags. But the last couple weeks have been devoid of any activity. Even the bandit camps that were found have been totally cleared out,” Aksel explained. “Adding onto the confusion the bandits could have acquired their weapons and equipment in a number of ways. The spyglasses, maps, shovels, and compasses aren’t of much note, but I’m baffled about where they got Weselton Army crossbows and broadswords. Those are made exclusively for soldiers in the Weselton Army. I feel it’s difficult to say whether they stole it all or if it was supplied to them.”

“Wouldn’t it be foolish of Weselton to use easy to identify equipment if they were trying to attack us?” Elsa asked. Aksel rubbed his chin.

“That’s the issue. In the time I’ve spent as a mercenary I’ve seen numerous conflicts that involved underhand tactics like this, but there were usually attempts to keep things under wraps. Perhaps these bandits were hired by Weselton but were foolish and sloppy. Perhaps they simply robbed Weselton soldiers. I think it’s impossible to make any real judgements right now. Any rash action could be seen as an act of aggression by Weselton.”

Elsa paused and absorbed the Captain’s words.

“So what do you think we should do? I’m at a loss and I lack military experience.”

“I think at the moment we should back off. I’d suggest keeping some extra men near the border to be safe. We need to remain alert without making Weselton feel that we’re preparing for war,” Aksel explained. “With your permission, Your Majesty, I can draft plans and run them by you tomorrow.”

“You have my permission, Captain,” Elsa said. Aksel stood there for a moment waiting to see if Elsa was going to say something else. When she did not, he spoke up.

“Now that we’ve settled that business I was also going to ask if you wanted to do more training today as planned. I had some ideas for your powers that might help.”

In his time as a mercenary Aksel had seen many strange things and wasn’t nearly as shocked after learning of Elsa’s powers as everyone else was. Aksel came back to Arendelle after hearing about the passing of King Agnarr and Queen Iduna to attend their funeral but left soon after. It was only when he returned after Elsa’s coronation that he was convinced to stay. After seeing her using her powers, Aksel offered to help her train them, particularly in combat so she could fight with them nonlethally.

“I was actually hoping we could reschedule it. I have a lot on my plate right now,” though she was thinking mostly of Hans, Elsa wasn’t lying when she said that. She had a lot on her plate aside from Hans.

“I understand. However, since our last round of training I had an idea of creating snow ropes,” Aksel suggested as he moved his hands to demonstrate the rough idea of what he was suggesting. “You could use them as whips and tie people up with them. It would be an easy way to incapacitate them.”

“That’s… a good idea.” Elsa didn’t really talk about it, but she really appreciated it when Aksel would come up with a new suggestion for how she could use her powers to fight without hurting people. While she had become much more comfortable using her powers, it made her feel more assured that she’d be able to avoid repeats of what happened when she tried to use her powers against the Duke’s guards at her ice castle. “We’ll have to try that out tomorrow.”

Aksel nodded.

“I’ll be ready to help you train when you’re available tomorrow and I’ll start drawing up plans for troop deployment to present to you. It’s getting cold now, so I’ll take my leave,” Aksel declared before bowing. Elsa returned the bow with a curtsy of her own and the Captain turned to leave. The snow queen watched as he entered the castle.

Elsa was alone.

For the first time all day Elsa had a chance to breathe. It was late in the afternoon by now and Elsa just realized she had spent most of the day doing nothing but sitting in a meeting and going over mail. She walked back to her room, through the halls of the castle, passing the servants, greeting Gerda as she passed her. Elsa finally reached her room and unlocked the door.

She approached her desk, taking a deep breath. Sitting down at the chair she quickly unlocked the drawer she kept Hans’ letters in and pulled out his latest one. After a quick reread she pondered it.

_He keeps insisting on me visiting again,_ Elsa thought.

While she had said she told Hans she would consider returning to see him she was debating with herself if she should really go back. She wasn’t exactly opposed to it. She had enjoyed staying in contact with Hans through letters. The banter and freedom she felt in being able to be frank about serious topics was good. She did enjoy her last talk with Hans despite some of the awkward parts. But maybe she was a bit too hasty in saying she’d see about coming back. Elsa sighed. She leaned back in her chair and relaxed. The picture of Hans’ handsome face floated into her mind.

_I hate him_ , Elsa thought as she got up and plopped face down on her bed. She hated whenever she was reminded that she thought Hans was good looking.

She rolled over on her back and took a deep breath.

If she was honest with herself then she’d have to say that she’d love to go and visit Hans. She genuinely did like Kristan and Marianne, and while there have been bumps it was oddly entertaining to converse with Hans. The problem was the distance. And planning when to visit. And the fact that Hans tried to usurp her throne and take over Arendelle. As much as she enjoyed the talks, she could never discount the possibility that Hans might do something sneaky. But Elsa felt reasonably sure that he wouldn’t do anything, especially when he was behind bars.

Elsa felt like she was just on the tipping point of deciding to go. She sat up and got off the bed. She headed out of her room, locking the door.

The young woman walked through the halls. She needed to think more on this. Surely she couldn’t make such a rash decision… could she? Elsa kept walking. And walking. And walking. She reached the balcony over the courtyard and walked through the doors.

_Some fresh air will help_

Elsa leaned on the railing of the balcony. It was where the Yule Bell would be raised to ring in the holidays. She could see Anna and Kristoff in the courtyard. Kristoff was chasing Anna claiming he was going to kiss her. Anna was jumping over tables and ducking between the staff walking by to avoid him, laughing the entire time and boasting how he’ll never catch her. Kristoff caught up to her hiding behind Sven who was trying to move out of the way. Kristoff pulled out a carrot and threw it, causing Sven to chase after it. With nothing protecting her Kristoff ran up to his girlfriend, picked her up, and started kissing her. Anna laughed and started kissing Kristoff back.

Elsa thought it was so sweet. She was happy that Anna was smiling so much with Kristoff. It was what she deserved.

Elsa just sat there leaning against the railing. She felt the cool breeze against her skin. Anna noticed Elsa and waved. Elsa waved back and smiled at her sister. Kristoff hugged Anna from behind and kissed her again. Sven then came up behind them and used his antlers to pull them onto his back. As Sven ran around, Olaf started chasing them trying to join them.

The elder sister couldn’t help but laugh at their antics. She was blessed to have such a wonderful family. Elsa turned around and slumped down against the railing. With the alternating feelings she had about her talk with Hans… Elsa decided on one. She liked it.

She was going to return to the Southern Isles.

_Could this be dangerous?_

…

_Of course._

But after the talk she had with Hans… after the letters she’s traded with him… maybe it wouldn’t hurt to see him again. She knew he could play games, but she could handle herself. She was sure of it.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so glad to finally get this chapter done. I’ve been sitting on a few sentences for 6 months and finally in the last month started getting the energy to finish this. I will definitely try to get more than one chapter done a year. I’d like to thank my beta reader for helping me by cleaning up some of the grammar because it was a huge help.
> 
> I actually watched Olaf’s Frozen Adventure recently as I was writing this and decided to include elements of it into my story. I started writing this fic back in 2014 before any of the shorts came out. While I hadn’t originally planned to include them (since they didn’t exist at the time) I think I found a way to work them into the story. I also reevaluated the original outline that I made for the fic and changed a few things up so the story worked better. I’m really excited about working on this again. The comments I got for this on ao3 were really encouraging. I'm glad that people are still interested in my fic even after all this time. I’ll be working on chapter 5 next. You’ll be getting some nice stuff in the next chapter, especially with Hans. Look forward to that!


	5. Shadow in the Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What’s that? Another chapter in less than a year?! It’s more likely than you might think! This probably won't mean as much to anyone who first found this after I posted it to ao3 but seriously it feels good to keep writing! Several people have been asking for Hans and Elsa to interact again and that’s exactly what this chapter is about. Now originally, I had planned this chapter to be after a timeskip but then I realized I would be skipping over Hans and Elsa’s first talk like this and I couldn’t let that slide. I also had a wonderful idea of what to do with the chapter so at this point what I originally planned for chapter 4 got pushed to chapter 6. But it was necessary for the story to have the proper development it needed.
> 
> This chapter will have a lot of Hans so enjoy!

It was the dead of the night in Arendelle.

The queen was preparing to leave for the Southern Isles. She was taking a different boat than she normally did, one that drew less attention than the main royal boat. She brought a skeleton crew for the ship and handpicked the captain for the boat. Each of them was sworn to secrecy. None of them were to ask questions about why she was going to the Southern Isles. She didn’t take any guards with her; This trip was to remain a secret, and any subsequent trips were to remain secret as well.

Elsa readied to board the boat. She wore a blue and black dress, one that somewhat resembled her coronation dress but was far less restrictive. Covering her was a brown hood that concealed her entire dress and her head. An ice dress would be far too easy to spot, and Elsa was aiming to be as discrete as possible. The snow queen walked across the gangway to board the boat, stopping short when she was just one step away from it.

_I’m really doing this._

Elsa stepped forward onto the boat. She felt unnaturally at ease about this. Her previous trips to the Southern Isles were marked with worry and anxiety. But now she was eager. She wanted to go.

When the salt and pepper haired captain told Elsa that they were prepped to leave she gave him permission to begin the journey. Captain Andreas gave orders to the crew as they opened the sails, his world- weary face lively as he yelled. The boat started to move. As they progressed away from the docks and out of the fjord, Elsa walked up to the back of the boat. She raised her hands to create a ball of her magic that caused freezing gusts, blowing her hood around. Elsa threw her hands forward and created icy winds that blasted into the sails, causing the boat to surge forward. Ice started to cover the mast and sails, but the snow queen waved a hand and quickly dissipated it. She headed inside to her room to rest while the boat made its way to its destination.

Normally it would take about a day to reach the Southern Isles, half a day with good winds. But with Elsa’s powers creating winds they could reach it in a fraction of the time. She needed every second she could get.

Elsa had contacted Kristan about coming as soon as she decided to return. He promised to be there when she arrived. Everything was set up for this trip.

 

* * *

 

 

As the ship neared the Southern Isles a member of the crew woke Elsa up. As she got up, she felt shockingly well rested. The queen prepared herself, combing her hair back and straightening out her dress. It wasn’t like it would matter when she was just talking to Hans, but she was so used to fixing her appearance for meetings it felt wrong to not do anything. The white haired queen walked out onto the deck as the boat settled into the pier. Everything was dead silent in the docks save for a few fishermen who were offloading their catch, far too busy with their work to pay attention to the ship that just arrived. As Elsa scanned the wharf she saw Kristan there with several guards surrounding him and what must have been a dozen guards scattered around the docks. After the boat docked Elsa exited and approached the crown prince of the Southern Isles.

“Welcome back to the Southern Isles Queen Elsa,” Kristan said as he got down on his knee. As he stood back up Elsa curtsied. “I have everything prepared.”

“Thank you, Prince Kristan,” Elsa formally replied. She turned to the crew. “I shouldn’t be here longer than an hour. Be prepared for my return.” The crew all saluted the queen and returned to working on the ship. While Elsa wanted to be as brief as possible, she also hoped that she could give the crew some time to rest. She’d have them sailing to and from the Southern Isles in one night. While Captain Andreas assured her that his men could easily do it without a wink of sleep, the queen felt that the crew deserved at least some rest.

Soon Elsa and Kristan were in the carriage he had prepared and on their way to the castle.

“Thank you for coming to see Hans,” Kristan said. “I won’t ask why you chose to come back and see him, but you seem to be the only person he’s willing to talk to.”

Elsa wasn’t sure what to say.

“You’re welcome,” she thoughtlessly blurted out. Elsa felt embarrassed. Kristan was expressing such a kind sentiment and that’s all she managed to come up with.

_I was doing so well too…_

Kristan must have sensed the awkwardness because he quickly continued.

“I had almost given up hope on Hans after months of making no progress. But ever since you came in something’s changed with him. He’s still not easy to deal with, of course, but he’s become less hostile... You don’t have to say anything. I just wanted you to know that.”

_Oh thank goodness_.

Elsa was relieved. She was glad that Kristan wasn’t trying to force a conversation. He was being pretty understanding about her awkwardness. But with the silence a new question came to Elsa’s mind.

“I was actually wondering…” Elsa started. Kristan gave her his attention. “What happened to Hans’ horse?”

“Sitron?” the elder prince responded. “I had him put in the royal stables. I’ve had him taken care of by John. So far no one else has been able to get near Sitron without a problem. Sitron was always particularly attached to Hans, and John helped train him.”

“Ah. Thank you,” Elsa responded.

Elsa was glad to hear that. Ever since Hans mentioned that in a letter, she had thought about asking Kristan about it. She knew Hans would never ask his brother, and she had to admit she was curious about it too.

 

* * *

 

As the carriage arrived at the castle it slowed down and then came to a halt. The door was opened from the outside and Elsa saw that John was standing just outside of the carriage. Kristan got out first and held out a hand to help Elsa out. She took it as she stepped out of the carriage and onto the stone ground.

“Looks like I finally caught you at a good time,” Elsa joked with John.

John was going to say something to argue but held his tongue, rubbing his mustache awkwardly. Elsa was right. This was the first time she had met him when he wasn’t exasperated. He gave the queen a bow, which she responded to with a curtsy.

“Welcome back to the Southern Isles, Queen Elsa,” John said before handing a set of keys to Kristan.

Kristan led the way towards Hans. It wasn’t too long before they reached the entrance to the prison where Hans’ cell was. After Kristan told the guards to step aside he unlocked the door. Elsa walked with Kristan down the stone hallway. Somehow the dark and damp tunnel felt less depressing than it did before. The atmosphere managed to be less oppressive. After going through gate after gate they finally reached the final one at the entrance of Hans’ cell. Kristan put the key into the keyhole but didn’t turn it.

“I won’t be going in with you,” Kristan whispered so quietly that Elsa could barely hear him. She leaned closer to him to hear him better. “I don’t want to mess up anything.” Elsa nodded silently to him and he turned the key and opened the door.

Elsa strolled into the cell without hesitation and with her head held high. She walked past the column and stopped in front of Hans’ cell.

Hans sat there on his dirty mat like he always did. He slowly raised his head and met Elsa with a smile. He lacked the facial hair he’d had in the past, to Elsa’s surprise. He was totally clean shaven with his sideburns neatly trimmed.

“Welcome back, Queen Elsa,” the former prince cheerfully said as he stood up. He approached the door of his cell and grabbed the bars as he leaned his head against them. “So good to see you again.”

Elsa waved her hand and created an elaborately designed ice chair behind her. She sat down and smiled back at Hans. “Hello, Hans.”

“Don’t I get a chair? I think it’s a little unfair that you’ll make me stand like this.”

“Well I think you’re going to have to earn that right, Hans,” Elsa slyly said back to him.

“Oh, you’re so mean,” Hans playfully whined.

“So, what do you want to talk about?” Elsa cut straight to the point.

“I just want to know how you’re doing. Talk about the weather. Chat a bit.”

“I’m doing fine, Hans. You look like you’ve been better, though,” she teased the disgraced prince. If he was going to mess with her then she was going to mess with him.

“Oh, you don’t mean that,” Hans pouted, putting on a comically sad face. “You have to admit I look better than last time.”

“You look like you’ve shaved. I would have expected you to have a beard sitting here all this time.”

“I have a brother named Kasper who gave me a shave before you came. He says I should still try to look presentable for foreign royalty. Typical of him. He always thinks about dealing with foreign dignitaries. But I think he was just trying to make me look good for you.”

“He gave you a shave?” Elsa ignored his obviously playful line.

“Oh yes. He came down here with a chair, shaving cream, and a razor to do it.” He rubbed his chin. “He did a good job, don’t you think?”

_He’s fishing for a compliment._

The young queen tried to ignore it. But he did look good well shaved. Not that she was opposed to him with the scruff. Some stubble, not too much. It was a rather rugged look. Well… actually a beard would look quite dashing on him. Then again, the clean face certainly-

_Stop thinking about that_ , she chastised herself.

“You look fine,” Elsa responded trying to remain as stone-faced as possible.

“I’m _quite_ fine actually,” Hans smiled back at her.

_Wait a minute._

Elsa noticed something about Hans. Something that she hadn’t realized until now.

_He’s not mirroring me._

Elsa waved her hand and created an ice chair similar to hers behind Hans. He checked behind him and then smiled back at Elsa.

“Why thank you Elsa. I am blessed by the famous generosity of the Queen of Arendelle,” Hans praised her as he gracefully sat down and set his right foot over his left knee and laced his fingers together, resting his arms on his legs.

“Yeah, yeah,” she dismissively said back at him. Elsa knew he was being purposefully over the top. But she had to admit that even in his position he could still manage to look rather dignified.

“So, you mentioned you had some situation going on in Arendelle in your letters,” Hans started. “Now I understand why you didn’t go into details in the letters, but you have me rather intrigued about what’s going on.” Hans leaned forward, expressing great interest in what Elsa had to say.

_Do I tell him about the situation at the border?_ Elsa questioned herself.

_I guess it wouldn’t hurt to get another opinion on the matter, especially from someone like Hans who would know how someone sneaky would think. It’s not like I have to tell him everything. But will he be completely honest with me?_

“Well… we do have something going on…” the queen started. Hans subtly leaned forward, eyes widening with interest.  “I won’t be telling you everything, but we’ve had bandits at the Weselton border that have attacked villages and towns, but the tricky part is that they were found with Weselton Army weaponry.” Elsa was anticipating what he would say.

“Do you know it’s Weselton that’s behind it?” Hans shot out.

“We’re not sure. We haven’t been able to figure it out.”

“Hm. If I was trying to go after Arendelle then I would do something similar. Goad Arendelle into military action through minor attacks, then play the victim. Call in allies and overwhelm Arendelle from multiple fronts. They might even be using obvious weapons to make you more likely to take action. If Weselton is doing this, they would want you to attack them,” Hans explained. “Even with your powers you couldn’t fight off multiple kingdoms. And if they played it right, they’d make you look like the aggressor and lose any good will you have with people.”

Elsa had to admit that hearing Hans’ take on the situation was interesting.

“That’s very possible.”

“Do you have a military advisor?” he inquired.

“I have several advisors but none of them are military. Though I do have Captain Aksel who leads my royal guard, he-”

“You wouldn’t be referring to Aksel the Blade, would you?” Hans interjected.

“Aksel the what?” Elsa was confused.

“Aksel the Blade. A mercenary with near unparalleled skills with a sword. He came to Denmark a while back and made quite a name for himself doing mercenary work. Rumor has it he came from the north but he never stuck around long enough for anyone to ask him anything.”

“Aksel… was a mercenary. But he hasn’t said anything about that before.”

“I’d be interested to know if he’s the same Aksel.”

“I’ll ask him when I see him next. But he shares my concern about this. He’s recommended that I keep soldiers near the border to keep an eye on things but not to do anything too rash. He’s drawn up plans to keep troops close to the border to watch in a way that doesn’t make things too suspicious,” Elsa explained. She said more than she intended to, but she felt oddly comfortable with discussing this with Hans. However, she knew she should stop herself from telling him literally everything.

“He sounds very wise.”

“The Captain has experience that’s been very helpful.”

“I can see that. You definitely don’t want to start a war, regardless. And if it _isn’t_ Weselton that’s behind it you especially don’t want to start a fight with them. Then you’d have Weselton and whoever is responsible to deal with. Unless you know who’s truly behind it you can’t really do much,” Hans speculated.

“And that’s the real problem,” Elsa replied with an exasperated sigh. “There are so many things we just don’t know.”

“You know… I can help you. Let me come back with you and I can provide you with plenty of advice.”

Elsa silently laughed at Hans’ suggestion. She knew he was kidding but she decided to play along with him. It was actually kind of nice to have that playful banter after talking about such a serious subject.

“Are you going to try to escape and usurp another kingdom?” the queen taunted.

“No,” Hans replied plainly.           

“I don’t believe you.”

“Why would I? After what happened in Arendelle last summer everyone knows what I did. Everyone in Arendelle, Weselton, Corona, Kriggar, Elos, Lavencia, Maldonia, Fehmar. Every kingdom knows what I did. No one would trust me no matter where I go. I’d be on the run for the rest of my life. Even if I did manage to take over a country it would only be a matter of time before they’d overthrow me. There’s no point. I had my chance to become king and I lost. I’d have to go so far away to find anyone who hasn’t heard of me that it would be pointless.”

“… You’re serious?” Elsa found herself… intrigued. Was Hans being genuine?

“Of course,” Hans said. “I wanted to be king and I wanted it so badly that I was willing to lie, manipulate, and kill my way to the throne of Arendelle.”

“An ambitious plan,” Elsa admitted, almost smug knowing that Hans had failed.

“And what did that ambition get me?” Hans said sorrowfully. “A lifetime in a dirty cell? Being shackled to the floor?” Hans held up his shackled hands causing the chains to rattle. “I was better off being miserable in my life here in the Southern Isles. Now I’m nothing but a stain on the history of the Westergaard family. No doubt my parents have already struck me from the family tree.”

Hans looked off into the distance at nothing in particular. He was lost in thought. He just had a sour look on his face.

“I never should have gone to Arendelle,” Hans muttered. It was almost quiet enough to slip by Elsa.

She… felt pity for Hans. Of course, he deserved this. After what he did… leaving Anna for dead and lying to her to make her think she killed Anna. Elsa remembered his face when he was masquerading as the perfect prince. But she saw his face now and it was miserable. A far cry from the dashing prince he pretended to be and a far cry from the cunning usurper he actually was. Elsa had figured out that Hans was good at putting on faces to hide his true feelings. But now he was not even trying. Despite being clean shaven he looked worse than ever.

“You can move on and become better,” Elsa finally spoke up with earnest. She had at times felt she was a horrible person for what she did to Anna. But she had put that behind her and repaired her relationship with Anna.

_It might be a bit naïve… but maybe Hans could become better?_

Hans was slow to react, but eventually he turned his attention back to Elsa with a weak smile on his face.

“You think I can be better?” He questioned. Elsa swallowed awkwardly.

“I think it’s… not impossible. Even for you,” she said with a bit of hesitance.

“You’re sounding like Kristan now.”

“Maybe Kristan is right about you,” Elsa replied.

Hans looked like he wanted to be mad but he couldn’t.

“We’ll see about that,” Hans returned to his playful attitude.

“You’re just being difficult,” Elsa sighed.

“Maybe so,” Hans teased. A smirk creeped onto his face.

“Got tired of showing a little vulnerability there?” Elsa teased him back. Hans’ smile widened.

“I have to be a strong man for the fair lady in my presence,” Hans retorted, dramatically throwing a hand up.

_I’m sure that’s about all I’ll get out of him on that_ , Elsa thought to herself.

“Now how is Anna doing?” Hans asked, shifting the topic.

“Far better without you. She’s dating a guy who actually loves her… not that you care,” Elsa shot.

“You’re not wrong,” He admitted. “I’m sure she’s fine with… that guy?”

“Kristoff.”

“Yes him. I’m sure she’s plenty fine. It doesn’t take much for her.”

Silence.

Elsa wasn’t exactly enthused at that comment about Anna.

“I’ll have you know I’m not going to let you talk down about Anna,” she firmly stated. Hans looked rather taken aback by the statement.

“I’m jus-”

“I’m not going to allow it Hans. So, unless you want me to leave, keep comments like that to yourself.”

Hans met Elsa’s gaze. It might be the first time they properly made eye contact. Elsa challenged Hans for a good twenty seconds until he broke eye contact, looking away from Elsa. When he turned back to Elsa, he had a smile on his face.

“Fine then. If you insist,” he relented.

“I’m glad we can come to an understanding,” Elsa gave a smug smile. She thought she saw something in Hans’ smile. He didn’t look mad at being challenged.

_He looks kinda… happy._

“So, do you have anything else for me?” Hans inquired.

“As a matter of fact, I do. I talked to Kristan and he said he has your horse in the royal stables. He has John taking care of him,” Elsa said. Hans’ expression changed again. He gave a quiet sigh of relief. He swallowed before he responded.

“That’s… good to know. I had expected my parents…” Hans trailed off. Elsa didn’t need him to finish the statement. Knowing what she did about his parents she knew what he was going to say.

Hans was quiet again. Elsa wasn’t sure if she should break the silence.

“Thank you,” Hans finally spoke up, failing to look at Elsa as he said it. Elsa was taken aback by the fact that he genuinely thanked her. There wasn’t a hint of sarcasm to it. What he had written in his letters about his horse painted a picture that he cared quite a bit for him. Given his lacking family situation it wasn’t hard for Elsa to imagine him being so attached to his horse. He could have simply asked Kristan himself if he wanted to know. But Elsa had learned by now just how damaged his relationship with his family is. She hoped that Kristan could manage to get through to his younger brother.

Hans had to admit to himself that Elsa was getting to him. He couldn’t lose the little bit of power he had in the situation, but he found himself at a loss of how to respond. He’d gone months not knowing what happened to Sitron. He was made fun of by his brothers for years that his horse was his only friend, but considering they made fun of him regardless he’d rather be friends with his horse than any of them. Elsa didn’t have to ask about Sitron for him… but she did anyway.

“You’re welcome,” Elsa said softly. Hans looked back at the queen and held a gaze with her. She saw him give a slight smile before breaking eye contact and putting on a smug face.

_A mask again. Well… I won’t push it._

Elsa tried to think of a subject to shift to. Thankfully she didn’t have to.

“I could go for some wine right now,” Hans spoke up, changing the subject. “A good Chardonnay with some camembert.”

_He clearly wants to get away from being vulnerable. But wine isn’t a bad topic._

“I’m sure I’ve got some Chardonnay back at home, but I can’t promise any camembert. Anna and I don’t exactly eat much of it,” the young queen responded.

“Shame. Camembert pairs so well with it.”

“You’ll have to give me some recommendations for wine pairings. I’m sure you know so much about wine,” Elsa couldn’t help but add a bit of snark to the end of her response.

“I’ll have to tell you some of my favorite wines when I write you again.”

“How do you even write to me?” she asked. This was something that had bugged Elsa for a while. She never saw Hans with anything in his cell that he could write with.

“Writing can be a bit difficult. They only allow me to have a wooden board and a piece of paper. Then they take it from me when I’m done.”

Elsa had an idea, but she kept it to herself.

“That’s all? You don’t even have a desk to write on?”

“What do I look like? Royalty? They don’t give me anything here. Not that I blame them. But I usually have to just write by moonlight.”

_Moonlight…_

The young queen just realized. It was getting late.

The ice on Elsa’s chair started to fracture and expand erratically.

_I can’t stay here much longer. I need to get back_ , Elsa frantically thought to herself.

_It’s okay. I’ll get back and no one will know… but what if they do? What if Anna finds me coming in late? What would I tell her? What if a guard finds me? What if they’ve known the whole time? How will I explain this?! What am I going to do?!_

Elsa clenched her fists. She didn’t know why. Maybe to distract herself. She tried to take a silent few seconds to calm down, but the ice didn’t fix itself.

“Are you alright Elsa?” Hans asked, concerned. Elsa didn’t answer. She didn’t want to answer. 

_I have to calm down. I have to calm down. I have to calm down. I have to keep this under control._

Elsa started to hyperventilate. She felt like she couldn’t breathe. She felt numb. Her vision started to get blurry until she could only see white. The only thing she could feel was the inescapable fear.

_Oh, please not now. Not now. I can’t do this right now. I don’t have Anna with me to help. Or Kai. Or Gerda._

Ice started to spread from her chair despite her efforts to stop it. Elsa could barely think about the ice, let along stop it. It creeped out to Hans’ cell and the pillar behind her.

“Elsa. It’s going to be fine,” Elsa heard his voice. Hans got up from his chair and walked up to the bars of his cell. “Listen to me Elsa. It’s going to pass, just relax and focus on my voice. I’m right here.”

His voice felt like it reached into her, cut through her like a hot knife through butter. She latched onto it. Elsa felt herself slowly regain her vision. The anxiety started to soften. It wasn’t gone but she was starting to feel more in control. Hearing Hans’ voice was strangely comforting, not that she would admit it out loud. The ice receded and the chair slowly reformed itself properly. She still felt uneasy but at least she didn’t feel like she was suffocating. The queen sat in her chair quietly for what felt like an eternity while she calmed down. Hans patiently waited for the ten minutes it actually lasted. In all honesty he’d value the silent presence of Elsa over anyone else talking to him.

Elsa put her head in her hands.

“That didn’t look fun,” Hans broke the silence. He realized how insensitive the comment was and changed his tune, not wanting to alienate the one person he enjoyed talking to. “Are you alright?”

“… I’m… I’m fine. I think it’s time to wrap this up. I need to get back,” Elsa said, trying to appear more composed than she actually was. She stood up and with a wave of her hand her and Hans’ chairs disappeared. She finally felt like she could breathe again. It was probably going to be a few hours before these feelings completely subsided, but she was glad to have the anxiety start to go away. She hated feeling like this.

_Why does his voice do that to me?_ Elsa thought to herself. It’s not that she didn’t appreciate it, but it was just so strange. It was like when he called to her at the ice castle all those months ago. She was about to kill those Weselton guards, but Hans’ voice reached her. It snapped her back to reality and stopped her from doing something she would regret. Elsa didn’t understand how he did that. While the thought of it had bothered her before... now she didn’t feel so uncomfortable about it.

“Thank you, Hans,” Elsa said. She felt she should at least thank him for that. Hans smiled back at her and made Elsa feel warm, which was strange because she never felt warm like that.

“You’re quite welcome, Queen Elsa,” Hans replied with a smirk. “I’d be a terrible host if I didn’t help my guest.” It was a playful comment, but Elsa sensed a desperation Hans was hiding. His eyes betrayed his smile.

_Perhaps it’s because he shares the same feelings of loneliness?_ Elsa pondered. But she could think about it later.

Elsa walked up to Hans’s cell and held out her hand. Hans looked at it curiously before taking it and shaking her hand.

“I’ll see you later, Hans,” the young queen said.

“Are you going to come back soon?” he inquired. Elsa let go of his hand.

“I won’t be able to visit again until after the New Year.”

“Your birthday is coming up, is it not?” Hans asked.

“Yes, and I will be spending it with Anna. Then I have the Yule Bell I have to set up and Christmas to get ready for. Arendelle hasn’t had a proper Christmas in years.”

“Sounds busy. Sadly, I won’t be able to join you for Christmas.”

“My thoughts and prayers will be with you Hans,” Elsa said as she walked backwards towards the exit. She turned forward and walked to the door.

Then Elsa stopped. She turned back around to Hans with a smile on her face.

“You know Hans… I noticed you weren’t mirroring me today. That’s progress,” the snow queen calmly told him before leaving.

Hans thought about her parting words.

_Darn her… getting the last word like that_.

Elsa emerged from the dungeon into the cool night air. She took a breath, feeling honestly happy about this. Surprisingly she felt like her anxiety was pretty much gone. Elsa couldn’t help but smile about it. She noticed that Kristan was over the on left leaning against the stone wall. He looked like he had fallen asleep waiting on her but woke up when she approached him. He quickly composed himself.

“Did it go well?” Kristan asked.

“It was pleasant,” the snow queen responded. Kristan smiled.

“I can’t tell you how thankful I am that you can get through to him.”

“I’m just talking to him.”

“That’s more than any of us have managed. You’ve talked to him more tonight than the rest of us have since he came back to the Southern Isles,” Kristan said. Elsa wasn’t sure what to say to that.

“I’m not really trying to do anything,” Elsa explained.

“I think that might be why he’s willing to talk to you. I might be too pushy with trying to help him.”

“You’re trying to help your younger brother. That’s understandable,” she sympathized.

“Yes, but the problem is that he doesn’t _want_ my help,” the crown prince lamented.

“That’s true,” Elsa admitted. “He gets touchy anytime his family is brought up.”

Kristan sighed and yawned.

“Anyway, it’s rather late. Will you need to stay the night in the Southern Isles? I can have a room in the castle prepared for you,” the prince offered. Elsa put her hand up.

“I’m sorry Kristan but I’ll need to get back to Arendelle as soon as possible. I’ll be heading back right now.”

“Very well then. I’ll have some guards escort you back to your boat,” Kristan said, waving over a handful of guards. “I need you to escort Queen Elsa back to her ship on the docks.”

The guards saluted and prepped a carriage for Elsa.

“I bid you good night Elsa,” the elder prince said to Elsa. “You’ve been a real blessing. I hope you have a safe trip back to Arendelle.”

Kristan bowed his head and headed towards the castle. While Elsa had only ever had a sister, she thought to herself that Kristan was like the brother she never had.

 

* * *

 

She rode quietly back to the docks, thinking about getting back to Arendelle before anyone found out. She wasn’t freaking out, at least not now. She just wanted to get back as soon as possible. Having made this trip to and from the castle numerous times it didn’t feel nearly as long as it did when she first came to the Southern Isles. It wasn’t too long before she was back at the pier and had the door opened for her by a guard. She thanked the Southern Isle guards and told them she was fine for the rest of the way. They dutifully waited at the carriage watching Elsa. As she walked onto the boat, she saw the crew quickly getting the ship ready. Captain Andreas approached the queen.

“Did you do what you meant to here?” He asked.

“Yes Captain. I did,” the queen said.

He nodded and then turned to the crew. A member of the crew gave him a thumbs up.

“PREPARE TO SET SAIL!” the captain yelled. Various crew members started yelling at each other as they continued scrambling around the ship getting it ready to sail.

It was a little loud for Elsa. She covered her ears as she made her way to the back of the boat. In a short time, the boat was moving out on its way to Arendelle. The snow queen turned and saw the Southern Isles shrink as the boat left the harbor. She created an icy wind that blasted the boat forward before starting to walk to her room. As she passed him, Captain Andreas turned to the queen.

“I know I’m not supposed to ask any questions, Your Majesty, but orders like that just make a man wonder what’s really going on,” the experienced sailor asked.

Elsa stopped and turned to him.

“It’s nothing that you’ll have to worry about. I’m not doing anything dangerous. It’s just something I’d rather remain private.”

“You know I’m loyal to the throne Queen Elsa. I just want to make sure you’re alright.”

Elsa thought about it. She gave the captain a reassuring smile.

“I’ll be fine. Trust me.”

He nodded but didn’t look completely reassured.

The trip back to Arendelle wasn’t eventful, though Elsa found it hard to sleep. There was so much excitement about this. Her anxiety had pretty much disappeared but she was thinking about her talk with Hans and the thought of returning. The snow queen imagined having to sneak out like this regularly. She probably could only manage to do it once a month at best.

_Well I’ll just cross that bridge when I reach it._

 

* * *

 

The boat pulled into the docks at Arendelle. Light was just about to creep over the horizon. After the ship was docked Elsa put on her hood and exited the boat. She didn’t have much time to get back to the castle. She got the captain’s attention and called him over to her.

“Captain Andreas I don’t know when I’ll be leaving next, but I’ll notify you when it does happen.”

“Understood, Queen Elsa,” he bowed before returning to the ship.

Elsa quickly made her way back to the castle. She avoided everyone as she left the docks. There were a few secret passages in the castle that her parents showed her when she was young. She made use of them as she stealthily entered the castle. She walked quietly through the stone passages, coming out of the passageway near her room.

Elsa snuck into her room, glad to finally be home. She got out of her dress and put on a night gown. The exhausted woman crawled into bed. She pulled the covers over herself and settled in. It was so nice to finally be able to rest. She drifted off, content in the fluffy pillows.

The door slammed open.

“Good morning Queen Elsa! Time to rise and shine!”

Kai walked in and opened the curtains to Elsa’s window. Her eyes shot open.

_Oh please no._

Light started to pour in. Elsa whined and pulled the covers over her head.

“Can’t I just stay in bed a few… more hours?” Elsa begged. Kai simply laughed.

“We have some dignitaries that arrived early from France. You’ll have to brush up on French etiquette and look over the notes your advisors have prepared. It’s going to be a busy day.”

Elsa grumbled.

“This is why you shouldn’t stay up so late, Queen Elsa.”

Elsa sighed and reluctantly got out of bed.

 

* * *

 

It was Christmas in the Southern Isles.

Hans sat alone in his cell. It wasn’t too bad, all things considered. Kristan gave him as much of a Christmas dinner as he could. That amounted to a rugbrød roll, a couple pieces of roast goose, some cooked pickled herring, and a small cup of risalamande. Obviously, this was merely scraps from the dinner the rest of his family enjoyed, but it was the best food Hans had eaten since he was thrown into this hole. He had scarfed the food down in a very undignified manner but given how hungry he was he didn’t care. It was incredible after months of the tasteless gruel he’d been forced to eat.

He even considered thanking Kristan.

Considered it.

He still had his pride, mind you.

Hans lay on his mat. It was actually a new mat he just received. Nothing too fancy, but Kristan had replaced the dirty old mat as a Christmas gift. No words were spoken between the brothers, though Hans was annoyed that he found it harder and harder to ignore Kristan.

_It must be Elsa’s fault. She’s the one who insisted on me talking to him_ , Hans thought to himself. She must be the source of this feeling.

_How dare she._

It was then that Hans heard the sounds of the gates to his cell being opened, the sounds of keys turning and metal doors creaking echoing down the stone halls. Hans sat up.

He wondered who was coming.

_Kristan again? Another visit from Gustav? Not likely. He was probably still stuffing his face. Niels? No Niels would have managed to get lost. Kasper? No he hasn’t visited since he gave me a shave._

Kristan came around the corner. Hans sighed. Kristan had a tired expression on his face that Hans reflected. The elder prince had two boxes in his hands. A wide short box that was wrapped with a fancy wooden cylindrical box on top of it.

“Hello Hans,” Kristan said.

Hans said nothing. Kristan was used to the silence at this point and continued nonetheless.

“I have some gifts for you. They arrived earlier today.”

Hans remained silent.

“They are from Queen Elsa,” Kristan explained. Hans’ expression perked up. Kristan smirked. He had a feeling that would be the one detail Hans would be interested in. “They arrived earlier today. I’ve already checked them, and there’s nothing off about them. I haven’t told anyone else about this. I’m going to keep it between us.”

Kristan shifted the boxes onto one hand while he pulled out a key and opened Hans’ cell. He stepped inside and set the boxes on the ground.

“I’m guessing you’d rather open them alone?” Kristan asked his brother. Hans desperately wanted to ignore him but ultimately gave in.

“Yes,” Hans reluctantly responded.

“I’ll leave you to it. I’ll return in an hour to pick up the box and wrappings,” Kristan told his little brother. “I do hope you like the gifts.”

Kristan closed the door to Hans’ cell, locked it, and walked away. Hans heard the doors close and lock as Kristan left.

Hans was alone.

Now that he had a chance to breathe, he picked up the cylindrical tine box by the handle on top and set it off to the side. He was more interested in the wrapped gift. Upon closer inspection he noticed that the paper it was wrapped in was blue with a pattern of red Christmas trees covering it. There was red ribbon wrapped around the gift with an envelope tucked under it. Hans pulled the envelope out and removed the letter inside. He was curious as to what note Elsa left.

 

* * *

* * *

_Merry Christmas Hans_

_I know you don’t have a good relationship with your family, but you still deserve to have something for Christmas._

_Sincerely,_

_Elsa_

* * *

* * *

 

Not something he expected from the good queen, but a pleasant surprise nonetheless. He set the letter down on top of the tine box and tore into the wrapping paper of the gift. He ripped the ribbon off in one motion and in a few pulls had the wrapping paper removed and scattered around him.

Hans was surprised. The gift was a wooden stationary box. Hans set it down on his lap. It was of incredible quality. There was a leather mat on the top of the box for writing, and several indentions where pens and ink could be set. Hans unlatched the box and opened it, finding a stack of paper, envelopes, a fountain pen, two containers of ink, and a wooden ruler inside. Everything inside was set in a dark green felt. Hans removed the pen and examined it. It was black and smooth with a silver tip. He set it back and rubbed his hands over the wood. It had a rich, dark color with a smooth finish. The whole set must have been expensive.

Of course, this would make writing easier, but more than that it was something that now belonged to _him_. He’d become so used to having nothing that merely having this stationary set made him feel a little more human again. The mat was nice but that would be there in this cell after he was gone. This stationary set? This was _his_. Hans couldn’t help but smile.

After basking in the feeling, he gently set his new stationary on his mat. Reaching for the wooden box he examined it. The box was a dark color, cylindrical, and perfectly circular. There was a handle on the top and two wooden fins that stuck up from either side on the lid. On the side there was a detailed painting of sailors fighting a draugr at sea. The creature looked to be made of seaweed and every piece of seaweed was individually drawn, with every sailor given exquisite detail.

_A fine piece of art. Clearly the artist is part of the national romantic movement,_ Hans mused to himself _._ The former prince turned the box to see the full picture of the battle. The caliber of the artwork was incredible. He was surprised at the quality of the gifts Elsa had sent him. Of course, she was royalty but he was nothing but a disgraced prince. To get him such gifts…

Hans opened the wooden container. There was a wooden spoon inside the container along with something else.

It was a cake resting on a wooden plate. It was covered in white frosting with several strawberries set on top.

_She didn’t._

Hans pulled the cake out of the box and set it on his lap. He took the spoon and cut out a piece of the cake and took a bite.

Brioche cake… with strawberry crème.

_She remembered?_

It was just an offhanded thing he mentioned in a letter about his eleventh birthday. Hans couldn’t believe she not only remembered it but had a cake just like it baked for him. A tear fell from his eye which he quickly wiped away. He swallowed trying to think of how he was feeling about this. He took another bite of the cake. It was delicious.

Hans felt, for a moment, kind of happy. A little reminder of that birthday all those years ago.

_I guess… this has been a pretty good Christmas._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s good to get another chapter done! I have to thank my editor grimaulkins who’s been a huge help in editing chapters for this story.  
> There were several kingdoms referenced in this chapter. Now of course Corona from Tangled gets a reference, but after rewatching Princess and the Frog I decided to throw Maldonia in. I also came up with a few original kingdoms to flesh the world out a bit.  
> I’ll be honest the anxiety attack wasn’t in the original plan for this chapter. It’s something that came up as I was writing it. It’s based on an experience I had years ago and I felt it was a nice way to show how Hans helps Elsa. Another thing that came up was that I had completely forgotten to say that John has a mustache. I can’t believe I went this whole time without describing him with a mustache. Well better late than never.  
> Now Olaf’s Frozen Adventure takes place in between when Elsa leaves and the ending with Hans. I’m actually thinking about writing some side stories for Devious Ice that take place outside of the events of the chapters. Now this wouldn’t be anything major, just some assorted short pieces. And I wouldn’t focus on that too much. I’d mostly like to do a lot of those side stories after doing more chapters, and I’d definitely like to do a lot of them after I’m done with Devious Ice.


End file.
